
&/^Pt6M>&, "/W/; " /< 




LIFE AND WORKS 



OP 



MISS MARY JANE GRAHAM, 

LATE OF STOKE FLEMING, DEVON. 



BY THE 



REV. CHARLES BRIDGES, M.A. 



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fl-* 



FROM THE SIXTH LONDON EDITION, 




NEW YORK: 
ROBERT CARTER & BROTHERS, 

No. 285 BROADWAY. 



1849. 



U4-9 



ROBERT CRAIGHEAD, PRINTER, 
112 FULTON STREET 






PREFACE. 



The Writer did not enjoy the privilege of personal acquaintance with 
the subject of this Memoir. But when the materials, both of incident 
and manuscript, were placed in his hands, he could not but feel that 
many subjects of valuable interest and importance might be brought 
out with advantage to the church. He has been constrained to com- 
pensate for the paucity of incident by the introduction of large extracts 
from her writings and correspondence, which, however, will be often 
found to afford instructive developments of the character of her mind, 
and the principles of her profession. If he should be thought, by the 
extension of his own remarks, to have occasionally transgressed the 
bounds of a biographer, he can only cast himself upon the indulgence 
of his reader, in the exercise of his important responsibility, in availing 
himself of this opportunity to offer a few suggestions of Christian love 
upon subjects of present and most anxious interest in the church of 
God. 

Such as his work is, the Writer desires to commend it to the blessing 
of the great Head of the Church, trusting that the example of the 
highly-gifted and consecrated character here set forth, may reflect the 
glory of His adorable name, and quicken the energies of those who bear 
that name upon their profession, to aspire to a more elevated standard 
of Christian devotedness and privilege. 
Old Newton Vicarage, 
July 16, 1832. 



ADVERTISEMENT 



SECOND EDITION. 



The interest that has been excited by the following Memoir, has in- 
duced the Writer, after having exhausted the materials with which he 
had been previously furnished, to investigate fresh sources of informa- 
tion, by which he might bring forth the proper individualities of Miss 
Graham's character, and the circumstantials of her life into more dis- 
tinct and detailed exhibition. This object he has been enabled to ac- 
complish, by a selection from her own letters, as well as from com- 
munications readily furnished by her family and friends. He has added 
also a few of such extracts from her manuscript, as were likely to be 
generally acceptable, and prefixed a portrait? taken about four years 
before her death, which it was thought would increase the interest of 
the work. He now once more commits it to God and his church, with 
the desire that it may reflect — not the honor of the creature — but the 
glory of the Saviour. 

Old Newton Vicarage, 
March 9, 1833. 



CONTENTS. 



CHAPTER I. 



I 



PAGE 

Her early life ......... 7 



CHAPTER II. 

Her relapse into infidelity * . . . 14 



CHAPTER III. 

General sketch of Miss Graham's life — her views of 

study extensive attainments and active devoted- 

ness to God ......... 2.2 



CHAPTER IV. 

Further extracts from her writings and correspon- 
dence .......... 48 

I. On the great doctrines of the gospel . . .48 

II. On subjects of theological discussion . . . 6G 

III. On christian experience and practical religion . 92 

IV. On miscellaneous subjects 138 



VI CONTENTS. 



CHAPTER V. 

PAGE 

Different views and features in Miss Graham's charac- 
ter . 166 



CHAPTER VI. 
\ 

Her illness and death . . . . . .189 



CHAPTER VII. 
Remarks 205 



MEMOIR 



OF 



MISS MARY JANE GRAHAM. 



CHAPTER I. 



HER EARLY LIFE. 



" The works of the Lord are great ; sought out of all them that 
have pleasure therein^ 1 Elevated indeed is the Christian's pleas- 
ure 2 in " seeking out the great works" of creation. But it is the 
work of " redemption," which mainly attracts his delighted contem- 
plation 3 — as the mirror in which the glory of his God and Saviour 
is most fully unveiled before him. The " new creation" 4 on the 
heart of man is one grand division of this perfect work of God : and 
often does its display of " the beauty of holiness" constrain the 
world to a reluctant acknowledgment, and excite the church to 
joyful adoration — " What hath God wrought !" 5 For not only 
will the Redeemer's glory be manifested in his saints at the blissful 
era of his coming 6 — not only will they then be seen " as the jewels" 7 
of his everlasting crown ; but even now are they " the glory of his 
inheritance" — set forth for the conviction of the world — " that they 
may see, and know, and consider, and understand together, that 
the hand of the Lord hath done this, and that the Holy one of 
Israel hath created it." 8 

It is the object of the following sketch to bring forth to view one 
of these striking manifestations of divine power and grace, and 
to illustrate, in connection with this memorial, some of those edifying 
and instructive lessons which it will be seen to present before us. 

Mary Jane Graham was born in London, April 11, 1803. Her 
father was engaged in a respectable business, from which he retired 
a few years before his daughter's death (and chiefly from regard to 
her delicate health,) to the village of Stoke Fleming, near Dartmouth, 
Devon. She appears to have been the subject of early religious 

1 Psalm cxi. 2. Compare Bishop Home's beautiful note. 

2 Ps. xix. 1. Compare Rom. 1. 20. 3 lb. cxi. 2, with 3, 5, 9. 
* 2 Cor. iv. 6 ; v. 17. Eph. ii. 10. 5 Numbers xxiii. 23. 

« 2 Thess. i. 10. i Mai. iii. 17. 8 Eph. i. 18. Isa. xli. 19, 20. 



MEMOIR OF MARY JANE GRAHAM. 

convictions. At the age of seven she had acquired those habits of 
secret prayer, which may be considered a favorable mark of divine 
influence upon her soul. But we will give the history of this era 
of her life in her own words. To a friend who had evinced some 
incredulity of the genuineness or permanency of early impressions 
of religion, she thus writes : 

March, 20, 1827. 
* You appear, my dear friend, to think very early piety too won- 
derful a thing to be true. It is wonderful — so wonderful, that, when 
David was contemplating the starry firmament, he was drawn for a 
moment from his meditation on the wonders he there beheld, by the 
still greater wonder of " God's ordaining strength out of the mouths 
of babes and sucklings." 1 But David's wonder and yours were of 
a very different nature — he wondered and adored. Jesus, too, that 
"man of sorrows" once "rejoiced in spirit," because God "had hid 
these things from the wise and prudent, and revealed them unto 
babes. Even so, Father ; for so it seemed good in thy sight." 2 

1 Even so, Lord Jesus ; in thy rejoicing will I too rejoice ; let the 
world think me a fool or an enthusiast, or beside myself, as they 
thought thee.' The story of 'Little Henry and his Bearer,' to 

which I believe you allude, I have been assured by Miss , is 

every word of it true. Do not then bring upon yourself the dreadful 
sin of limiting the power of the Holy One of Israel. Jesus has 
said, " Suffer little children to come ;" 3 and they will come, if he 
calls them. As facts are the strongest of all proofs, bear with me a 
little longer, while I tell you briefly the history of a child, for the 
truth of which I can vouch. I knew a little girl, about sixteen 
years and a half ago. She was much like other children, as full of 
sin and vanity as ever she could hold : and her parents had not as 
yet taken much pains to talk to her about religion. So she went 
on in the way of her own evil heart, and thought herself a very 
good little girl, because she said her prayers every night and mor- 
ning, and was not more passionate, wilful, and perverse, than most 
of her young companions. The God of love did not think this 
sinful child too young to learn of Jesus. He so ordered it about the 
time I am speaking of, when she was just seven years old, that she 
was led by a pious servant into some alms-houses belonging to 
Rowland Hill, who had just been preaching in them. The servant 
and an aged woman entered into a long conversation together, to 
which the little girl listened, and wondered what could make them 
like to talk about such things. But at the close of it, the old woman 
took the child affectionately by the hand, and said to her — ' My 
dear child, make the Lord Jesus your friend now that you are so 
young: and when you come to be as old as I am, He'll never leave 
you nor forsake you. God the Spirit sent these simple words to the 

1 Psalm viii. 1 — 4. 

2 Luke x. 21. This, though not the direct, is an inclusive meaning of the declaration. 

3 Mark x. 14. 



MEMOIR OF MARY JANE GRAHAM. \) 

poor sinful child's heart. She walked home in silence by her 
nurse's side, thinking how she could get Jesus to be her friend. 
Then she remembered how often she had slighted this dear Saviour ; 
how she had read of him in the Bible, and been wearied of the 
subject : how she had heard the minister preach about Jesus, and 
wished the long dry sermon over ; how she had said prayers to Him 
without minding what she said; how she had passed days, weeks, 
and months, without thinking of him ; how she had loved her play, 
her books, and her toys, and her play-fellows — all, all better than 
Jesus. Then the Holy Spirit convinced her of sin. She saw that 
no one good thing dwelt in her, and that she deserved to be cast 
away from God forever. Would Jesus love her now ? Would he 
ever forgive her? She feared not; but she would try. She would 
make herself very good, and then, perhaps, Jesus, would be her 
friend. But the more this little girl tried to be good, the more her 
naughty heart got the better of her ; for she was trying in her own 
strength. She was led to give up trying in that way ; and many 
long nights did she spend in praying " with strong crying and 
tears" to Jesus that he would teach her how to get her sins pardoned, 
and make her fit to have Him for her friend. Let me mention it 
for the encouragement of those who seek Jesus, that He did not dis- 
dain to listen to the prayers of this little child. He put it into her 
heart to read the Bible, of which, though she understood not all, yet 
she gathered enough to give her some comfort. One day her 
attention was fixed on these words — -"The Lamb of God, which 
taketh away the sin of the world." 1 Now something that could 
take away sin was just what this little girl wanted : and she asked 
her father to tell her who this Lamb of God was. He explained to 
her this precious verse. But who can describe the raptures which 
filled the bosom of this little child, when made to comprehend that 
the " blood of Jesus cleanseth from all sin." Now she fled to Jesus 
indeed. Now she knew that He had loved her, and given himself 
for her; now the Spirit of God, who often "chooseth the weak and 
foolish things of the world, to confound the wise and mighty," 2 
" shed abroad the love of God in the heart" 3 of a weak and foolish 
child, and " filled her with peace and joy in believing." 4 She had 
no one whom she could talk to of these things. But she held sweet 
converse with her reconciled God and Father: and gladly would 
she have quitted this life to go and dwell with Jesus. Since then 
she has spent nearly seventeen years of mingled happiness and 
pain. But she has had Jesus for her friend ; and He never has, 
and never will forsake her. 5 She has forsaken Him more than 
once for a season, and turned to follow the vain things of the world. 
But her Shepherd's eye has been over her in her wanderings, and 
He has never suffered her quite to depart from Him. To this day, 
her vain and treacherous heart is continually leading her to provoke 
her heavenly friend. "He visits her transgressions with the rod, 

i John i. 29. 2 1 Cor. i. 27. 3 R om , v . 5. * lb. xv. 13. s Heb. xiii. 5. 



w 

m 



10 MEMOIR OF MARY JANE GRAHAM. 

and her iniquity with stripes ;" but he has sworn never to " take his 
loving kindness from her, nor to suffer his faithfulness to fail." 1 
She is constrained to acknowledge, that during all this time she has 
never done one thing that could merit God's favor. Free grace, 
free mercy, are all her song ; " It is of the Lord's mercy she has not 
long ago been consumed." 2 She is quite sure she could never have 
changed her own heart. No ; God has begun the good work in 
her, and he must carry it on ; and from first to last, let glory be 
ascribed to Him, and let her take the shame and confusion to herself. 
At this moment she desires to live, if she may be made the means 
of converting one sinner to Jesus ; but if not, she would rather 
' : depart and be with Christ, which is far better." She is far from 
despising earthly blessings. Every morsel she puts into her mouth, 
the very air she breathes, is made sweet and refreshing by the 
loving hand that sends it. Once there was a curse on all her 
earthly blessings. But now " Christ hath redeemed her from the 
curse of the law, being made a curse for her." 3 She would give it 
as her living experience, and leave it when she goes hence as her 
dying testimony, that there is nothing worth living for except to 
know Him, and see others come to Him, and wash their guilty 
souls in the blood of the Lamb. God has given her the blessing of 
seeing a happy change take place in some of the dear companions 
of her childhood and youth. She waits upon him for the salvation 
of the rest ; and there is no one, whom she longs after more ardently 
in the Lord, than that dear and valued friend of her earliest days, 
to whom this letter is addressed ; and to whom she wishes every 
spiritual blessing, that God the Father, God the Son, and God the 
Holy Ghost can bestow r , now and for evermore : Amen and Amen.' 

Some apparent discrepancy may be observed between (his ex- 
quisitely beautiful and natural letter and her published account of 
this important crisis. 4 Perhaps some readers may suspect the let- 
ter to be somewhat tinctured with the spirit of her subsequent ex- 
perience. Though, however, the apprehensions of Divine truth 
which it expresses, w 7 ere indeed clear and enlivening, far beyond the 
average of spiritual capacity of children ; yet her ' view of many of 
the doctrines of Christianity,' which she afterwards so fully devel- 
oped and so richly enjoyed, was at this time ' very indistinct.' 5 
Doubtless also much of natural feeling and excitement was min- 
gled with these early impressions of religion ; while what was of a 
spiritual character, as she afterwards discovered, was not. sufficient- 
ly grounded upon that sense of universal guilt and helplessness 
which prostrates the sinner at the foot of the cross, simply depend- 
ent upon a free salvation. 6 This superficial cast of impression — 
without invalidating the reality of a Divine change — will ac- 
count for the instability w T hich marked her early course in the ways 

i Psalm lxxxix. 32, 33. 2 Lam. iii. 22. 3 Gal. iii. 13. 

4 Test of Truth. By Mary Jane Graham. (Seeleys.) 5 Test of Truth, 

e Test of Truth. 



MEMOIR OF MARY JANE GRAHAM. 11 

of God. From her own history we learn that she l was enabled to 
walk with God in sincerity, and without any considerable declen- 
sion during the greater part of her childhood, and the commence- 
ment of a riper age.' 1 After this period, however, ' more than once,' 
as her letter informs us, she ; forsook' her heavenly Friend, ' turned 
to follow the vain things of the world,' and " went on frowardly in 
the way of her own heart" — " leaning to her own understanding," 
and led captive in her own folly. 

Of this period future notice will be given. Meanwhile we revert 
to her early years as spent under the roof of her parents or at school. 
Her parents considered her virtues as those of every day — that is, 
habitual — and not merely called forth on particular occasions. 
She was a most amiable, affectionate, and dutiful child, seldom need- 
ing correction, tender-hearted when told of her faults, and by her 
general kindness of disposition attaching all the members of the 
household to herself. She was remarkably free from selfishness ; 
always ready to yield to her companions, even to deprive herself of 
what she valued. Her little pocket-money was generally reserved 
for some object of distress, or for some token of affection to a friend. 

Her quickness of mind was a subject of early observation. Her 
reading was chiefly obtained by attending to the lessons which were 
given to her brother, then preparing for school. She was seldom 
seen without a book in her hand, and seemed never so happy as 
when employing herself in the improvement of her mind. Yet 
this thoughtful cast of character was by no means tinged with un- 
natural gloom. In all the harmless games of childhood none of 
her companions excelled her in playful activity ; 2 while in the midst 
of her cheerful temperament, it was abundantly evident that the 
main concern of religion was uppermost in her mind. ' I recollect,' — 
her cousin writes, — ' that when were quite little children, she made 
some attempt to talk to me about religion — once especially, when 

we were sitting behind the curtain in the drawing room at . 

I did not like the subject, and therefore walked away, and joined 
my more worldly-minded companions.' 

Her school career commenced soon after she was seven years old. 
She was however shortly removed, from ill health, and again, about 
the age of ten, sent to a school of a different kind. Many of her 
companions, who survive her, will probably long preserve the re- 
membrance of that peculiar kindness and gentleness of spirit, which 
combined with her superior powers. One of them remarks her great 
carefulness to screen, as far as it was lawful to do so, the faults of 
her fellows, and her anxiety to plead for them when in disgrace: 
and so powerful was her advocacy, that her preceptress was con- 
strained to remove out of her way, when her judgment compelled 
her to persevere in her discipline. In all the school difficulties, she 
was the constant resource, ever ready and willing to assist, without 

1 Test of Truth. 

2 One of her early friends however remarks, that her games and manner of amusing 
partook more of imagination and of genius than those of the generality of children. 



12 MEMOIR OF MARY JANE GRAHAM. 

any assumption upon the ground of her acknowledged superiority. 
One trait of peculiar loveliness was here exhibited, (the spirit of 
which was marked on various occasions in after-life,) in her con- 
sideration of any of her companions, who, from any unfavorable 
causes, might appear to be neglected. These were the objects of 
her particular notice, and with them she shared all her little indul- 
gences. 

Her religious impressions appear to have been cherished by the 
familiar exhortations of the husband of her preceptress, and by de- 
votional exercises with those of her companions, who were living 
under the practical influence of their Christian instruction. To one 
of them she proposed to learn every day a portion of Scripture in 
private, and to repeat it to each other when they retired to rest. 
At this time she committed to memory the whole of the Prophecy 
of Isaiah, besides other portions of the sacred volume. 

At the age of twelve her delicate health again occasioned her re- 
moval from school. Her illness lasted for about two months, during 
which time, when confined upon the sofa, she committed to memory 
the whole Book of Psalms Indeed her powers of memory were 
of an extraordinary order. She was much delighted with Milton's 
Paradise Lost, and had learnt the greater part, if not the whole, of 
that magnificent poem. For many successive mornings she re- 
peated to her father most correctly upwards of three hundred lines 
each morning. Upon her recovery from illness she passed several 
months with a careful servant by the sea-side. So instinctive were 
her habits of active usefulness, that she employed herself, though 
only in her thirteenth year, in collecting a few children for the pur- 
pose of instruction, and in distributing tracts. In returning home 
to her parents, she enjoyed with them the rich and responsible priv- 
ilege of the ministry of the late Rev. Samuel Crowther, Vicar of 
Christ Church, Newgate Street— an eminent " waichman of Eph- 
raim," now with his God. 1 Under his faithful and affectionate in- 
struction she was brought to the ordinance of Confirmation about 
the age of sixteen, and publicly "joined herself to the Lord in a 
perpetual covenant never to be forgotten." 2 

These interesting notices of Miss Graham's early life may sug- 
gest a few profitable remarks. 

Let Christian parents be excited to an immediate and perse- 
vering discharge of their anxious responsibilities. Early im- 
pressions are of the highest moment in reference to the future 
course of their children. Let them be prayed for, expected, cher- 
ished. They cannot be too early or too urgent in presenting (after 
the example of the believing parents of old) the petition of the angel 
of the covenant — " How shall we order the child, and how shall we 
do unto him ?" 3 They can scarcety fix the precious seed too soon 
into the fresh soil. The pure simplicity of the rudiments of the 
Gospel is specially suited to the dawn of infant intelligence ; and 

1 Hosea ix. 8. 2 Jeremiah 1. 5. 3 Judges xiii. 12, with 18. 



MEMOIR OF MARY JANE GRAHAM. 13 

well would it be, if our children should never be able to recur in 
after life to the time, when these vital truths were first presented 
to their minds. The child's intellect opens faster than is commonly 
considered. The first impressions often retain a firm and perma- 
nent grasp through life. And abundantly has the experience of 
the Church testified — that early piety is eminent piety. 1 

It may appear suspicious, that so little shade is discoverable 
upon the records of Miss Graham's childhood. But defects can- 
not be noticed, where they were not observed. Probably our own 
sphere of observation, if not our immediate circle, may be furnished 
with similar cases, sufficient to preclude an unwarranted incredu- 
lity. And indeed these instances often afford the most striking 
illustrations of the total depravity of the fall. For while Miss 
Graham was in the estimation of her parents all that their fond 
hearts could wish — what was she in the sight of God? Self- 
knowledge under Divine teaching soon discovered to her, that 
under this attractive garb was hid the mighty principle of aliena- 
tion of heart from God. There was no natural preparation for 
heavenly influence. It was only a more lovely appearance of the 
death that reigned within. Her subsequent expressions therefore 
of self- abhorrence were not the ebulitions of a false humility, or of 
misguided fanaticism, but the genuine conviction of the Spirit of 
God upon her heart. 

The subject of our history suggests also the importance of an 
early excitement of the principles of active usefulness. No doubt 
Miss Graham's habits of early activity had an important influence 
in maturing her character for the high privilege of devoting herself 
to the interests of her fellow-creatures. It was Cotton Mather's 
practice to endeavor to enlarge the minds of his children, by en- 
gaging them daily in some 'Essay to do good.' He encouraged 
and commended them, when he saw them take pleasure in it, and 
never failed to show them that a backwardness would subject them 
to his displeasure. 2 This example cannot be too strongly incul- 
cated. To present to children an object beyond themselves, would 
tend much to counteract the natural principle of selfishness, so bane- 
ful to their personal happiness, and to their intellectual, moral, and 
spiritual improvement. At the same time, to give this habit its full 
effectiveness, it is necessary, that these ' Essays to do good,' should 
be acted out under the influence of self-denial, in the relinquishment 
of their own indulgences, for the benefit of the objects of their kind 
consideration. 

1 ' Barker's Parent's Monitor' gives a useful digest of information well calculated to 
guide the instructor, and to encourage the diligence and patient perseverance of parental 
faith. The principles of Christian Education are brought out with much simplicity 
and practical detail in the valuable and well-known works of Mrs. Hoare and Mr. 
Babington, which cannot be too highly recommended. Perhaps the most full and inter- 
esting illustration of these principles will be found in the Biographies of the Henry fam- 
ily, (Lives of P. and M. Henry, and Mrs. Savage and Hulton,) by Mr. Williams, of 
Shrewsbury, and a valuable volume recently published — ' Domestic Portraiture' — con- 
taining the records of several of the late Rev. Legh Richmond's children. 

2 See Cotton Mather's Life, abridged by Mr Jennings. It is published also, Vol. I. of 
an admirable series of Christian Biography, by the Religious Tract Society. 



CHAPTER II 



HER RELAPSE INTO INFIDELITY. 

About the age of seventeen, Miss Graham's mind underwent a 
most extraordinary revolution. She fell, for a few months, from 
the heavenly atmosphere of communion with God, into the dark 
and dreary regions of infidelity. Allusion has already been made 
to this afflicting circumstance, in her letter. 1 But for a most inter- 
esting and graphic detail, the reader must be referred to her own 
published account; 2 some digest of which will here be given, in 
order to connect the thread of her history, and to exhibit a clear 
view of one of the most important eras in her life. 

Miss Graham's mind at this time began to open in a metaphys- 
ical form — unfavorable to a simple reception of truth. And this, 
connected with a defective apprehension of her lost state, induced a 
spirit of self-dependence — one of the most subtle and successful 
hindrances to the Christian life. 3 Thus was the way opened to a 
secret habit of backsliding from God. The foolish vanities of the 
world for a while captivated her heart : and her manners were re- 
marked to be like those of other thoughtless girls of her own age. 
From frivolity she sought refuge in her more solid intellectual pur- 
suits. All sources of self-gratification within her power were re- 
sorted to with the fruitless attempt of obtaining peace in a course 
of departure from God. Wearied at length with disappointment, 
this prodigal child " began to be in want ;" and many a wishful 
eye did she cast, towards the rich provision of her Father's forsaken 
house. 4 In turning, however, to religion for comfort, she found, to 
use her own words — 'Alas! I had no religion: I had refused to 
give glory to the Lord my God ; now my feet were left to stumble 
upon the dark mountains.' 5 

The doctrine of the Divinity of Christ had often been to her, (as 

1 ' She had forsaken him more than once? evidently includes a reference to this history. 
In the recollection however of her complete restoration, she added — ' He has never suf- 
fered her quite (i. e. altogether andfinally) to depart from Him.' 

•2 Test of Truth. 

3 She alludes to an injury which her own mind, in common (as she conceives) with 
many others, had received from adopting Doddridge's form of covenanting with God. 
(See his Rise and Progress, Chapter xvii.) This was in her thirteenth year. Let it how- 
ever be remembered, that, though this mode of dedication may have frequently ministered 
to a legal spirit, yet it by no means necessarily partakes of an evangelical character. This 
" subscribing of the hand unto the Lord," has been found by many eminent Christians, 
(as, for example, Philip Henry's family,) to be a cord of love, not a yoke of bondage. A 
touching and expressive record of this character, from the pen and heart of the Rev. R. 
Hall, is given by Dr. Gregory. Allusion is probably made to it as an acceptable ordi- 
nance in the service of the Gospel. Isaiah xliv. 3 — 5. 

4 Luke xv. 14, 17. 5 Test of Truth. 



MEMOIR OF MARY JANE GRAHAM. 15 

to many other minds cast into the same mould) an occasion of per- 
plexity. Now it was " a stone of stumbling, and a rock of offence." 
Though repeated examination had fully satisfied her that it was 
the truth of the Bible ; yet so repulsive was it to her proud heart, 
that she was led from thence to question the truth of the Bible it- 
self. ' I suspected' — said she — ' that a system of religion which in- 
volved such apparent absurdities, could not possibly come from God. 
Determining to sift the matter to the utmost, I eagerly acquainted 
myself with the arguments for and against Christianity. My un- 
derstanding was convinced that the Scriptures were Divine. 
But my heart refused to receive the conviction. The more my 
reason was compelled to assent to their truth, the more I secretly 
disliked the doctrines of the Bible. n 

Continued resistance to convictions was the natural and melan- 
choly result of this inquiry. She determined to lay the subject 
aside for a while, still ' persuading herself that there must be flaws 
in the evidence of so strange a history,' which only her want of ma- 
turity of judgment, prevented her from discovering. Those early 
religious impressions, that usually form a bulwark against infidelity, 
in her case proved a stumbling-block to her faith. Ignorant of the 
native bias of her heart against the Gospel, she considered them as 
the effect of prejudice, before her mind had been intelligently in- 
formed or exercised. She now, therefore, determined to burst her 
chains, and to think and examine for herself. 

Hitherto she had confined her perplexities within her own bosom ; 
partly dreading the influence of external bias, and partly fearing to 
infuse into another's mind doubts concerning a book, which, she 
could not conceal from herself, might after all be true. She en- 
deavored now to strengthen her mind by pursuing a course of in- 
tellectual study, with the direct design of preserving herself from 
becoming a dupe to " cunningly-devised fables." And here she did 
not fail subsequently to acknowledge the special forbearance and 
wisdom of her Heavenly Father. Justly might He have deprived 
her of that reason, which she had so presumptuously set up in his 
own place. Yet was he pleased to overrule this waywardness of 
his child, as an ultimate means of her restoration, in applying her 
course of mental discipline to the effectual discovery of the fallacies 
with which she was now deluded. 

The immediate effect however of these studies was decidedly in- 
jurious. Their absorbing interest diverted her mind from the main 
subject of inquiry ; while they proved also a temporary refuge 
against the uneasy disturbance of her conscience. Even her inter- 
vals of reflection were too easily soothed by the indefinite postpone- 
ment of the great concern to "a more convenient season.'' Occa- 
sional convictions were indeed felt, but without any permanent or 
practical influence. 

Through the Divine mercy, this state of infatuation did not prove 

i Test of Truth. 




16 MEMOIR OF MARY JANE GRAHAM. 

of long duration. After a few months' captivity, she was brought, 
though not without severe conflict of mind, to the full light and 
liberty of scriptural truth. 1 The conviction of the being of a God, 
in her darkest moments had never wholly forsaken her. A few 
hours' contemplation of the starry heavens darted into her mind a 
piercing reflection upon her stupidity and ingratitude, in what she 
justly called an ' unnatural and parricidal attempt to banish God 
from his own creation, to depose him from his natural supremacy 
over her heart.' 1 Her whole life now appeared to her (what in- 
deed the Scriptures declare it to be), one continued act of sin 
and folly. Her convictions, however, of sin — being wholly un- 
connected with any discovery of the way of forgiveness — natu- 
rally tended to despondency. Every fresh sense of the corrup- 
tion of her heart, and of the unsullied purity of the Divine char- 
acter, brought with it a corresponding sense of guilt. She could 
expect, therefore, nothing but punishment proportioned to the infi- 
nite sinfulness of her offence. She could not conceive the consist- 
ency of her forgiveness with the claims of Divine justice ; and the 
alternative of her eternal punishment seemed even less dreadful 
than the supposition of ai^ inconsistency in Him, who, in her view, 
was the perfection of holiness. ' I had acquired' — she remarked — 
'such a perception of the beauty of holiness, that the thought of an 
unholy God was worse than hell to me. I felt that I had rather 
God should pour on me all the vials of his wrath, than that, car- 
ried away by an unworthy softness and weakness, he should for- 
give, and thereby encourage sin. To undergo eternal punishment 
ivas horrible. To acknowledge an unholy God was more hor- 
rible.^ 

As her last expedient, her despised Bible was brought to mind. 
And 'how different' — she observes — 'was the temper of mind, in 
which I now addressed myself to its perusal, from that in which I 
had read it in the commencement of my disbelief of Christianity ! 
I was no longer a proud sophist, triumphing in the strength and 
penetration of human reason, and in the comprehensiveness of hu- 
man knowledge. The contemplation of my own ignorance, weak- 
ness, and wickedness, had laid my pride in the dust. My eyes were 
opened to view myself as I really was — depraved and blinded in 
my reason, judgment, and understanding. And this is the process, 
she adds, which must take place in the soul of every man, before 
he can pursue the search after truth in a right spirit^ 

Her interest was early directed to the promises of Divine teaching 
to the sincere inquirer after truth. Their suitableness fixed her 
attention. Their freeness encouraged her heart. "Ask, and it 
shall be given you : seek, and ye shall find. He giveth his Holy 

1 It may be remarked, that severe providential afflictions about this period concurred 
with the exercises of her own mind, to awaken her mind to this self-abasing recollection 
of her fearful departure from God. 

- Test of Truth, p. 75. Compare Romans i. 20, 21, 28. 3 lb. 

« Test of Truth. 



MEMOIR OF MARY JANE GRAHAM. 17 

Spirit to them that ask Him" — especially arrested her. 1 She deter- 
mined to make trial of them, conceiving that their fulfilment in her 
own case would he a ' Test of the Truth 7 of the book, which held 
them forth for her acceptance. Though hindered at first by a sense 
of unworthiness, she ventured to apply : justly considering that 
whatever might be her apprehensions of her own demerit, yet a 
state of submission and desire could not be so displeasing to God, 
as one of carelessness and rebellion. 2 But the description of this 
anxious crisis must be given in her own striking words. 'Impelled 
by these reflections — fearful and uncertain, but with uncontrollable, 
unutterable longings, I directed my applications ' To the unknown 
God.'' O my Redeemer ! the first breathings of my soul were not 
uttered in thy name ! I rushed into the presence of my Judge 
without a mediator. But doubtless even then Thy comeliness was 
thrown over the deformity of my soul ; and the eye of my Father 
beheld me with pity, for thy dear name's sake. My prayer ascen- 
ded up to heaven, fragrant with the incense of thy merits ; though 
the poor wretch who offered it thought to please God by leaving 
thee out of it.' 3 

In this prostration of soul, she continued "watching daily at her 
Lord's gates, waiting at the posts of his doors." It need scarcely 
be added — she did not seek in vain. 4 The Divine character now 
appeared before her — not — as before — in its consuming holiness ; 
but in the combined glory of holiness and love. Her apprehensions 
of sin, of Christ, and of the whole system of Christian truth, were 
now irradiated with heavenly light; and with "simplicity and 
godly sincerity" of " heart," she was enabled to " believe unto right- 
eousness." The character of Christ, as a proof of the credibility 
of the Christian revelation, arrested her particular attention. A 
minute scrutiny of His spotless life was most satisfactory in its re- 
sult. 5 \ The more,' said she, ' I studied this Divine character, the 
more I grew up as it were into its simplicity and holiness, the more 
my understanding was enabled to shake off those slavish and sin- 
ful prejudices, which had hindered me from appreciating its excel- 
lence. Truly his words were clearer to me " than my necessary 
food" — He was my "Ail in all." I did not want to have any 
knowledge, goodness, or strength, independently of him. I had 
rather be " accepted in the Beloved," than received (had that been 

1 Luke xi. 9 — 13. The drawing out of this argument forms the first part of the ' Test 
of Truth' — upon which a venerable clergyman remarks — ' I hope I have been for many 
years a suitor for this promise. But I never before felt myself so iriteliicrently encouraged 
and animated to persist in my humble petition for more and more of Divine knowledge.' 
See also these promises, and the whole subject of 'The Test of Truth,' powerfully illus- 
trated in the Bishop of Calcutta's Lectures on the Evidences of Christianity — Lecture xix. 

2 Test of Truth. 

2 Ibid. p. ST. It may be asked — ' Where was all that knowledge and faith expressed at 
her first reception of the Gospell' (See her letter, p. 3-6.) But in fact, her infidelity 
was a black cloud — intercepting all present apprehensions of faith and intelligence. 
There are eminent Christians in the Church, who have "entered into this cloud," and 
whose recollections are more or less familiar with this agonizing but triumphant conflict 

4 See Proverbs viii. 34, 35. Isaiah lxiv. 5; xlv. 19. 5 Test of Truth. 

2 



18 



MEMOIR OF MARY JANE GRAHAM. 



possible) on the score of my own merits. I had rather walk, lean- 
ing upon his arm, than have a slock of strength given me to per- 
form my journey alone. To learn, as a fool, of Christ ; this was 
better to me than to have the knowledge of an angel to find out 
things for myself.' 1 

After her recovery from this fearful snare of Satan, she was mer- 
cifully preserved from " turning again to folly,'' and led forth in 
" the path of the just," 2 with increasing light, strength, and estab- 
lishment. l From that moment' — she adds — ' I ceased to stumble 
at the doctrines of the cross. The doctrines of Scripture, which had 
before appeared to me an inexplicable mass of confusion and con- 
tradiction, were now written on my understanding with the clear- 
ness of a sunbeam. Above all, that once abhorred doctrine of the 
Divinity of Christ was become exceeding precious to me. The 
external evidences of Christianity, though I now perceived all their 
force, were no longer necessary to my conviction. From that time' 
— she concludes — ' I have continued to " sit at the feet of Jesus 
and to hear his word ;" taking him for my Teacher and Guide in 
things temporal as well as spiritual. He has found in me a disciple 
so slow of comprehension, so prone to forget his lessons, and to act 
in opposition to bis commands, that, were he not infinitely " meek 
and lowly in heart," he would long ago have cast me off in anger. 
But he still continues to bear with me, and to give me " line upon 
line, and precept upon precept." And I am certain that he " will 
never leave me, nor forsake me ;" for, though I am variable and 
inconstant, "with him there is no variableness, neither shadow of 
turning." ' 3 

The writer cannot but hope, that at this awful crisis, when a 
moral pestilence (far more dreadful than the late cholera visitation) 
is stalking through the land, the preceding narrative may suggest 
seasonable caution, conviction, and encouragement to some, espe- 
cially of his young readers. Let them mark the connection of the 
first principles of infidelity, with the exercise of the understanding 
and with the state of the heart. 

1 This is not a solitary instance of impression from the contemplation of the character 
of Christ. Even Mr. Chubb must have felt some conviction, when he describes his life 
'as a beautiful picture of human nature in its native purity and simplicity ; and showing 
at once what excellent creatures men would be, when under the influence and power of 
that Gospel which he preached unto them.' (True Gospel, p. 56.) Rousseau's exquisite 
contrast between Socrates and Christ is well known, concluding with the remarkable ac> 
knowledgment respecting the latter — ' The inventor of such a personage, would be a 
more astonishing character than the hero.' Yet could this man's heart resist the clear con- 
viction of his judgment — ' / cannot'' — he subjoins — ' believe the Gospel. 7 His Confessions, 
however, clearly trace his unbelief to its proper cause — the love of sin. See John iii. 19. 
20, a text which throws more light upon the secrect springs of infidelity, than whole 
volumes that have been written upon the subject. 

2 Psalm Ixxxv. 8. Prov. iv. 18. 

3 Test of Truth, pp. 112 — 117. The extracts given from this interesting little work, 
will be sufficient to commend it to the reader's attention, as the production of an author 
of no common power, and deeply imbued with the glowing principles of the Gospel. It 
will remind the reader of some of Mr. Scott's painful exercises of mind described in his 
1 Force of Truth;' and of the argument so successfully handled by Bishop Burnet in his 
disputations with Lord Rochester. 



MEMOIR OF MARY JANE GRAHAM. 19 

Pride of intellect in Miss Graham's case, was evidently one main 
cause of her departure from God. When her mind left the strong- 
hold of faith, her scriptural light, which could only be apprehended 
through spiritual optics, became obscured, until she was gradually 
left to the Egyptian darkness of her own understanding. And this 
we apprehend to be a very usual commencement of an infidel 
course, upon principles equally opposed to reason and to revelation. 
Man, in his prurient desire to pass the bounds of revelation, forgets 
that while 'Uhe things that are revealed belong to us and to our 
children," the "secret things" are no less the property of God. 1 
As he has, therefore, reserved them for himself, this " intrusion 
into the things which we have not seen," and cannot see, is the 
unhallowed indulgence of a " fleshly mind." 2 The extent and pre- 
cise boundaries of revelation are determined by infinite wisdom ; 
and could we discern them with a single eye, they would be found 
equally illustrative of a high regard to the happiness of man. A 
more expanded view under present circumstances would only 
increase instead of clearing up our difficulties. The eye would 
wander over the field of infinite space with a disproportioned power 
of perception. The objects, therefore, would be less distinctly appre- 
hended ; and the result would leave us more restless and dissatis- 
fied, while the happy influence of humility, simplicity, and faith 
had been wholly disregarded. If we have not the whole view before 
us, let it suffice that we have all that is needful for our hapiness 
and present duty. The attempt to supply what we conceive to be 
wanting, by the conjectural effort of reason, would be to subject 
" vain man" to his Maker's merited rebuke — " Who is this that 
darkeneth counsel by words without knowledge?" 3 Every step of 
advance beyond the divine record is fraught with danger and uncer- 
tainty. " In God's light" alone " can we see light." 4 The intel- 
lectual " light that is in us," when applied by the pride of man to 
the contents of revelation — " is darkness ; and how great is that 
darkness !" 5 Simple faith, therefore, however mistaken or despised, 
may justly be deemed the highest act of reason ; while rational 
religion, ' falsely so called,' may easily be proved to be of all 
schemes the most irrational. 6 

1 Deut. xxix. 29. 2 Col. ii. 18. 3 j 0D . xxxviii. 2. 

4 Psalm xxxvi. 9. 5 Matt. vi. 23, with 1 Cor. ii. 14. 

6 The writer cannot forbear to add some admirable remarks from an unpublished man- 
uscript of Miss Graham's, shortly to be noticed. ' It is true that faith compels our assent 
to many things beyond the reach of reason, even of the renewed reason. But this im- 
plicit credence is itself the highest and noblest exercise of the understanding. It is a 
reasonable assent to the testimony of One, in whom we repose unlimited confidence, be- 
cause we have reasonable grounds for concluding him to be infinitely wiser than our- 
selves. An exercise of the reason is pre-supposed, whereby we are assured that the Bible 
is God's testimony; and an act of the understanding, whereby, having obtained this as- 
surance, we infer, that every word of the Bible must be true. The divine philosophy of 
faith, then, sets out upon these two propositions. The first an assurance, founded in 
reason, that the Bible is the revelation of God. The second an inference, equally founded 
in reason, that every word of the Bible is true; and must therefore be taken in preference 
to all the deductions of our oWn reason, which may or may notbe true. Neither of these 
propositions is shaken by the fact, that the Bible contains many things which we do not 



20 MEMOIR OF MARY JANE GRAHAM. 

We would add a few words upon the connection of infidelity with 
the state of the heart. We are not exclusively intellectual beings. 
The affections so materially influence the judgment, as often to 
incapacitate it for the accurate discernment of truth. The natural 
bias of the heart is to sin, and consequently to infidelity, the 
excuse and covering for sin. The point at issue is, whether men 
shall remain the servants of sin, or become the servants of God — 
whether they shall be degraded as sensual beings, or raised to the 
elevation of intelligent or spiritual existence. Now, as the Gospel 
stands in the way of natural indulgence, it must be removed. So 
that if a course of infidel reading or intercourse with scoffers, has 
not furnished the necessary arguments, they must be invented from 
the man's own heart. The danger of infidelity is not, therefore, 
confined to the ungodly and profane. Every unconverted man 
must secretly wish the Bible to be untrue ; and under this bias he 
will (except restrained by an Almighty power) endeavor to prove it 
untrue. A wrong state of heart, as with Miss Graham, gives the 
power and advantage to this active and malignant principle. In 
her early state of child-like simplicity she would have been safe. 
But the "fulfilment of the desires of the mind," probably more than 
of "the flesh," 1 combined with ignorance of "Satan's devices," 
brought her into his snare: and she was "taken captive by him 
at his will." 2 Depending upon the teaching of the Spirit of God, 
our "path" in divine knowledge will be "as the shining light, that 
shineth more and more unto the perfect day." 3 And 'whenever' 
(as an original and powerful writer remarks) he opens the Scrip- 
tures, that same light that discovers the meaning, will not fail to 
affect and make our hearts burn within us with the sense of divine 
light, authority, and power. Of this the experience of the people 
of God, as the)^ grow in knowledge, furnishes them daily with new 
instances ; and therefore they do not stumble at the want of the 
present sense of that light, but are quickened to diligence, excited 
to frequent cries for opening of their eyes, that they may under- 
stand the wonders, that by the knowledge of other parts of the 
world, they are induced to believe couched in those parts, which 
yet they know not.' 4 

understand; or in other words, that God may know many things that we do not know; 
that many things may appear to His infinitely holy and unclouded understanding, in a 
very different light from that, in which they are viewed hy our narrow and prejudiced 
minds. When the first proposition is once proved to the entire satisfaction of the mind, 
the second must follow of course. Then faith, an implicit, child-like faith, hecomes the 
only rational mode of proceeding. Every departure from this faith is a departure from 
reason; an insult to the understanding; a violation of common sense. And that we do 
make such departures, only tends to prove that, while the renewed understanding "con- 
sents to the law of God that it is holy, just, and good," " the law of sin," wfiich is yet 
working "in our members," occasionally beclouds and perverts it. 

i Eph. ii. 3. 2 2 Tim. ii. 26. 3 Prov . i v . 18. 

4 Haiyburton's Essay on the Nature of Faith. To the same purport Mr. Baxter 
writes : ' I think that in the hearing and reading (of the Bible) God's Spirit often so con- 
curreth, as that the will itself should be touched with an internal gust and savor of the 
goodness contained in the doctrine, and at the same time the understanding with an in- 
ternal irradiation, which breeds such a certain apprehension of the verity of it, as nature 



MEMOIR OF MARY JANE GRAHAM. 21 

One further remark suggested from this interesting record may 
serve to prevent unnecessary distress and misconception. Let not 
Miss Graham's vivid portraiture of her own feelings and views be 
considered as a general standard, as if the same intensity of mental 
exercise, and clearness of spiritual perception, were the exclusive 
evidences of a sound conversion of heart to God. Self-renunciation, 
diligent investigation of divine truth, and a conscientious improve- 
ment of the light vouchsafed, are indeed indispensable marks of 
Christian sincerity. Yet while the enjoyment of our high privileges 
will vary in proportion to the energy of these holy principles, the 
measure of their influence is almost indefinitely diversified within 
the precincts of the true church of God. It may also be important 
to observe, that many of Miss Graham's most painful trials (such 
as her intellectual pride) arose out of the peculiar form of her 
natural character. No sympathy, therefore, can be expected, or 
need be desired, in minds cast in a different mould ; and any effort 
to excite or encourage it, for the purpose of establishing an ideal 
connection with this object of attraction, (which would probably be 
unaccompanied with a desire to imitate the spiritual excellences of 
the proposed model) can only originate in deceit, and tend to self- 
delusion. 

gives men of natural principles. And I am persuaded that this, increased by more expe- 
rience and love, doth hold Christians faster to Christ than naked reasonings could do. 
And were it not for this, unlearned ignorant persons were still in danger of apostasy by 
every subtle caviller that assaults them. And I believe that all true Christians have this 
kind of internal knowledge, from a suitableness of the truth and goodness of the Gospel 
to their now quickened, illuminated and sanctified souls.' More Reasons for the Chris- 
tian Religion, in reply to Lord Herbert, and supplemental to his great work in defence 
of Christianity, (12 mo. 1672. pp. 135, 136.) 



CHAPTER III. 



GENERAL SKETCH OF MISS GRAHAM'S LIFE — HER VIEWS OF 

STUDY EXTENSIVE ATTAINMENTS AND ACTIVE DEVOTED- 

NESS TO GOD. 

Miss Graham continued to reside in London for some time after 
her deliverance from that awful delusion, into which she had been 
permitted to fall. The remembrance, however, of this temporary 
apostacy was "ever before her" 1 with all that holy shame and self- 
abasement, which attaches to the "purified conscience of the par- 
doned sinner 2 — humbling her in the dust, while yet faith, hope, love, 
peace, and joy, were the dominant principles in her soul. Deeply 
also did she feel the constraint of the command given by anticipa- 
tion to a backsliding apostle — " When thou art converted strengthen 
thy brethren.^ 3 It was the great object of her 'Test of Truth,' to 
set forth her own case as a beacon of warning, an example of en- 
couragement, and a monument of divine grace, for the special use 
of those who may be brought into the same seductive atmosphere 
of temptation. There is reason to believe, that her work in it3 
original form produced its measure of conviction upon her principal 
correspondent ; and we may confidently expect, that in a wider cir- 
culation, an answer to her prayers for a Divine blessing upon it 
will be abundantly manifested. During her residence in London, 
the ministry of the Rev. Watts Wilkinson, and a deep study of the 
sacred volume, were the ordained means of advancing her knowl- 
edge and experience of Scriptural truth. Her intellectual habits 
were a source of much gratification to her ; and mainly contributed, 
under the blessing of God, to form her character into a mould of 
solid and permanent usefulness. It is, however, delightful to ob- 
serve her Christian simplicity and watchfulness, to subordinate these 
valuable enjoyments to the primary object of the glory of God. Of 
this the following prayer, found among her papers, will furnish an 
interesting and edifying" illustration. 

'Before study of any kind, remember that it is but lost labor ex- 
cept the Lord bless it. 

Summary of things to be sought of God before 

STUDY. 

{ I desire to thank thee, my God and Father in Christ Jesus, for 
this and every other opportunity of improvement Thou hast given 
me. May the opportunity Thou hast given me be blest of Thee ! 

» Psalm li. 3. a Ezekiel xvi. 63. 3 Luke xxii. 32. 



MEMOIR OF MARY JANE GRAHAM. 23 

Enable rne to receive it with thanksgiving, and sanctify it to me 
by the word of God and prayer. Oh let me know nothing but 
Jesus Christ and Him crucified ; and other tilings just so far as 
may be for my good and Thy glory, and no further. I would 
mourn before Thee the base ingratitude with which I have hitherto 
abused my time and talents, by loving thy gifts more than Thee, 
and seeking myself, not Thee, in them. Now I bring all my things 
to Thee; for they are not mine, but thine own. Take that ac- 
cursed thing self out of them all, and condescend to use them for 
thy glory. I thank Thee that the meanest employment is accepta- 
ble in Thy sight, when done in the name of the Lord Jesus. May 
I set about this, in His name, and in His strength, and to His 
glory ! May I not once seek my own things in it, but the things 
that are Jesus Christ's. ! Let me no longer lean to my own un- 
derstanding ; but may I so acknowledge Thee in all my ways, that 
Thou mayest establish my thoughts, and direct my paths ! Suffer 
me not to be wise in my own conceit, nor vainly puffed up in my 
fleshly mind. Make me to cease from mine own wisdom. Be 
Thou my wisdom. 

'Holy Lord God the Spirit ! who dividest unto every man sever- 
ally as thou wilt, bless such of my studies, and in such a degree as 
may be most to thy glory. If it be thy will, prepare me by them 
for the work, to which I desire thou would est call and separate me. 1 
I commit this work to which I would devote myself, into Thy 
hands. Prosper it or not as Thou seest good. Thy will be done 
respecting it ; only take all self-seeking out of it ; get Thyself 
glory, Lord, in all that I do, and keep me from ever wishing to rob 
Thee of Thy glory. Lord, if Thou wilt bless me abundantly, grant 
that in whatever Thou givest me, I may remember I have received 
it, and not glory as if I had not received it. I set myself to this em- 
ployment in the name of Jesus : may I have fellowship with Him 
in it ! Let it not become a snare to me ; but may the Lord, who 
is my confidence, preserve my foot from being taken in this net, 
which has so often entangled me ! 

' O Thou glorifier of Jesus ! take of the things that are His, and 
show them unto me, and unto all Thy people, with such light and 
power, that our wills, desires, and affections maybe quite swallowed 
up in His love. Let us have no will but Thy most holy will. Con- 
vince us that all things else are mere dross and dung, in comparison 
with that most excellent knowledge of our dear Lord and Saviour 
Jesus Christ, which do thou give us eveiy day more abundantly, 
making us to know the love of Christ which passeth knowledge. 
Even so, Holy Spirit, for the sake of Thy great mercies in Christ 
Jesus, to whom, with Thee and the Father, be all the honor, all 
the praise, and all the glory, now and for ever. Amen.' 

1 This was a plan which lay very near her heart, for the gratuitous instruction of the 
children of Missionaries, and of Christians in reduced circumstances, with a view to qual- 
ify them for the situation of teachers. 



24 MEMOIR OF MARY JANE GRAHAM. 

In the same spirit, an extract from a letter to a young- friend en- 
gaged in the work of tuition, gives the following sensible advice, 
with a modest reference to her own case. 

March 22, 1827. 

'You ask me whether I think study is wrong. I think, on the 
contrary, if we study with a view to the glory of God. it becomes a 
duty to do so. If we study merely to please ourselves, I think it is 
wrong. Your situation seems to render study necessary ; and 
when we reflect how few of those who are engaged in teaching, are 
truly pious, it ought to stir us up to the best improvement of our 
time and talents. The love of study and mental amusements has 
been my great snare, and has so very often led me astray, that I 
have been tempted to give it up altogether. I feel thankful to God 
that whenever I have begun to make some progress in my favorite 
study, He has thwarted my attempt to excel by some seasonable 
interruption, a fit of illness or some domestic trial. But when I 
think, how very useful a moderate degree of mental cultivation may 
make me, and particularly that it seems the way of usefulness most 
suitable to me, if I should recover my strength, 1 I mean to resume 
it as soon as I can ; and I hope in Christ, through whose goodness 
every opportunity of improvement is given, that he will not suffer 
these opportunities to become hindrances to my advancement in the 
knowledge of him. Let us pray to be taught to feel, that all 
earthly knowledge is mere dross and dung, in comparison with the 
most excellent knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ; 
and then I trust we may pursue, without abusing it, only taking 
care never to neglect any present duty, or any spiritual duty for it.' 

But w T e will here give some large extracts from an unpublished 
Treatise ' On the Intellectual, Moral, and Religious uses of Mathe- 
matical Science,' as conveying her full and matured sentiments 
upon this important subject. 2 

1 See note p. 323. 
2 We subjoin an analysis of this Manuscript, which will give some view of the extent, 
general accuracy, and spiritual character of Miss Graham's mind. Introduction. Chap- 
ter I. The Usefulness of Mathematics in learning to reason — Groundwork of Mathe- 
matical Sciences. Art of stating a Question — Modes of Demonstration — Analysis — Con- 
nection — Art of Simplifying Processes — Intermediate principles. Chapter II. The 
Beneficial Influence of Mathematics upon some parts of the Intellectual and Moral Char- 
acter — Attention — Abstraction — Penetrativeness and Invention — Arrangement — Moral 
Habits of Mind. Chapter III. The Disadvantages of Mathematical Studies — Engross- 
ing attention of the Pursuit — Contempt or Mistrust of other Evidence — Effect on the 
Imaginative Faculties. Chapter IV. The advantage of Mathematical Science, and of 
the Cultivation of Reason in general, considered in a religious point of view. Chapter 
V. A review of the Disadvantages and Temptations to which the religious Student is ex- 
posed. In the Introduction she. specifies the persons for whom she primarily wrote, — 
'those who, in the ardor of their pursuit after human learning, are not unmindful of its 
immeasurable inferiority to " the wisdom which is from above." ' To them' — she re- 
marks — 'study of every kind presents considerations of higher import than even the in- 
tellectual benefits that are reaped from it. The introduction of religion into secular mat- 
ters is too often censured as impertinent and unseasonable ; and many will think it 
wholly out of place in a work confessedly on science. I can only reply' — she adds — 'by 
the simple confession, that I should grieve to be acquainted with that science, which 
might not, under God, forward in someway or other the grand object of my existence. 



MEMOIR OF MARY JANE GRAHAM. 25 

Speaking of study generally, she marks with accurate discrimina- 
tion, the different principles of the wordly and the Christian student. 
'Many and varied are the motives by which the worldly student 
is actuated. But his views all centre in some way or other in his 
own person. Self-gratification, self-advancement, self-interest, are 
mingled with them all. The Christian student is also variously 
influenced. But he has learned to transfer all his actions to another 
centre. The glory of his reconciled God is the point on which 
they all turn, the compass by which they are all directed. The 
outward conduct of the two characters may present many points of 
similarity. Their inward intentions are totally and irreconcilably 
different. The intrinsic excellence of science, its ennobling influence 
upon the mind, the delights that are to be enjoyed in the pursuit of 
it, and the benefits that are to be reaped in its attainment ; — these 
are objects common to the man of the world, and to the religious 
man. But mark wherein the difference consists. With the former 
they are primary objects of consideration ; the latter beholds them 
only in a secondary point of view. The Christian student is far 
from despising the advantages of study. He has felt what it is to 
thirst after knowledge, and he possesses a keen relish for the pleas- 
ures of intellect. But he puts all these considerations away from 
him till he has answered a question of higher importance. His 
first inquiry is — ' How shall I study for God l How shall I render 
my acquirements subservient to his glory V If he cannot answer 
the question to his complete satisfaction, the uneasy recurrence of 
it will prove a continual drawback to the spirited and successful 
prosecution of his studies.' 

Upon a very prevalent misconception upon this subject she gives 
the following just remarks : — 

'It has been too much the practice with a well-meaning but 
injudicious portion of the religious world, to decry human learning, 
as if it were a thing absolutely unchristian and pernicious. They 
attack it in the gross, and apply to it all that the Scripture has said 
concerning " the wisdom of this world." They appear to forget, 
that these censures apply not to the use, but to the abuse, of human 
learning. Those who " lean to their own understandings," who are 
" wise in their own conceits," who set human wisdom in the place 
of the Holy Ghost's teaching — these are the wise and learned, of 
whom the Scripture affirms, that the things of the kingdom are hid 
from their eyes. 1 But the description was never meant for the 

" Thou shalt teach them diligently to thy children, and shalt talk of them, when thou 
sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, 
and when thou risest up." (Deut. vi. 7.) These are the commands of God concerning 
the momentous truths of Scripture. They leave us very little time for science, indepen- 
dent of religion. Every believer in the Bible will endeavor to act in the spirit of these 
words. He will consider that time as lost, which is spent without regard to eternity ; and 
that learning as useless, which he cannot employ in subservience to heavenly knowledge.' 
This valuable manuscript was written about two years before her death. She had in- 
tended, during her last illness, to have revised it for publication. But increasing weak- 
ness, and the overwhelming impressions of the near prospect of eternity, compelled her 
to relinquish her design. l Matt. xi. 25. 



26 MEMOIR OF MARY JANE GRAHAM. 

discouragement of those, who pursue human study in a simple, 
child-like dependence upon God. It sometimes happens, that the 
young convert, full of religious zeal, and possessed with some vague 
and ill-defined notion of the worthless and ensnaring nature of 
human learning, is led by a mistaken sense of duty either entirely 
to abandon it. or greatly to slacken his efforts in the attainment of 
it, and so to shut himself out from a wide field of future usefulness.' 
Upon the lawfulness of study she draws the line with great pre- 
cision and Christian simplicity. 

' Does the time' — she asks—' you now devote to study, break in 
upon any known and immediate call of duty? If it does, your way 
is clearly pointed out. No prospect of future good can justify you 
in the neglect of present duty. Your studies must, according to 
circumstances, be w 7 holly abandoned, or laid aside, till you can 
resume them without feeling that conscience is drawing you another 
way. Perhaps you are ready to exclaim, that " this is a hard say- 
ing." You cannot contentedly resign or postpone your hopes of 
mental improvement. Still less can you consent to hazard the loss 
of all that yon have already acquired. Suffer me to remind you of 
two points of view, in which it imports you to consider this question. 
1 1 readily admit, that the studies of wordly men may be success- 
ful, notwithstanding the evil spirit in which they are prosecuted. 
" They have their reward." But nothing that you do can prosper, 
without the divine blessing. This must be the crown of your 
undertakings, or you labor in vain. If you know anything of the 
spirit of prayer, you make it your constant request, that all your 
doings may prosper, as far as they will promote the glory of God, 
and no further. In answer, then, to your own petition, God must 
withhold his blessing from your most laudable employments, if they 
do not lie in the direct path of duty. On this account you have no 
rational prospect of success. If you do succeed, be assured that 
some root of bitterness will spring up from the very accomplishment 
of your purposes. To continue your studies, therefore, under exist- 
ing circumstances, would be to subject yourself to certain vexation 
and disappointment. 

1 On the other hand, I would remind you, that if you simply 
attend to your duty, and resolutely forego the most beloved pursuits 
the moment they come into competition with it, there is no fear that 
you should lose anything by such conduct. He who made and 
who preserves your intellectual faculties, can surely enable them to 
retain anything that will be really useful to you. Your small stock 
of knowledge will, with his blessing, carry you further than the 
acquisition of the whole circle of human science could do without 
it. We may affirm of intellectual gains, no less than of those 
which are gross and tangible, that " a little that a righteous man 
hath, is better than the riches of many wicked." 1 We are com- 
manded to " be careful for nothing, but in everything to make our 

1 Psalm xxxvii. 16. 



MEMOIR OF MARY JANE GRAHAM. 27 

requests known unto God." 1 You may therefore in faith commit 
your studies and acquirements to Him. You may freely ask, and 
confidently expect, that he will take care of them for you, and 
return them to you, whenever they shall be wanted for his service/ 

The lawfulness of study being proved, its expediency, import- 
ance, and responsibility are next considered. 

'But perhaps the contrary to all this is your case. You feel 
that you can devote a certain portion of your time to study, without 
infringing upon any prior and more imperious demand of duty. If 
it be thus with you, your studies are undoubtedly lawful. It only 
remains to inquire, how far they may be expedient for you. 

'Of this, you must yourself be the best judge. It must depend 
on a variety of circumstances — the particular bent of your talent; 
the opportunities of improvement which lie within your reach ; 
your present situation, or your future prospects of life. Let us sup- 
pose that all or any of these combine in such a degree, as to give 
you reason to hope that your studies may open a door of usefulness. 
I shall endeavor to convince you, that no fancied dread of the 
snares and temptations attendant upon human learning ought to 
deter you from the pursuit of it. In your case the acquisition of 
knowledge is not merely a permitted employment, but a positive 
duty. God has made nothing in vain. He has given us nothing, 
which we may not use to his glory. This we admit without re- 
luctance in reference to every minor blessing, with which his 
bounty has enriched us. We acknowledge, that our health, time, 
riches, influence, are all intrusted to us for God's service, and ca- 
pable of being used to his glory. But do not they make a strange 
exception to this general admission, who so roundly assert the utter 
inefficiency of human reasoning, and of human learning ? If so 
many things, which we possess in common with unbelievers, may 
yet be legitimately improved to the glory of God, why is the under- 
standing to be excepted? Why must that best and fairest of God's 
common gifts be suffered to lie waste, only because it is a common 
one? None can deprecate more earnestly than I do the idea, that 
the unassisted light of human reason can ever make us wise unto 
salvation. But shall we therefore say, that the reason takes no 
part whatever in our reception of truth ? Remember that he who 
gives you spiritual teaching is the very same who gave you this 
human understanding. He gave you not the former to supersede 
and overpower, but to guide and enlighten, the latter. Both are 
alike his gifts; and though the one is inferior to the other, and 
useless without its aid, yet we must neither neglect nor despise 
him. Nothing that he gives can be worthless. So much for rea- 
son itself. And as for those parts of human learning, which con- 
tribute to strengthen and improve this faculty, they are also given 
by God ; means which he has adapted to the fulfilment of no 
ignoble purpose. We are just as much bound to use those instru- 

i Phil. iv. 6. 



28 MEMOIR OF MARY JANE GRAHAM. 

ments, which Providence has placed within our reach for the culti- 
vation of our understanding?, as we are bound to attend to the 
culture of our fields. Nay, unless we deny that our minds are bet- 
ter things than our fields, we are more called upon to encourage 
the growth of the former than of the latter. If God has given you 
superior faculties, and the means of improving them, there cannot 
be a more manifest token, that he intends they should be improved. 
The parable of the talents is never more fairly exemplified, than 
when, in the way of duty, we go and trade with the natural abili- 
ties which our Divine Master has distributed to us. till we can 
bring them back to him with the grateful acknowledgment — '-Lord, 
thy pound hath gained ten pounds." 1 

1 If, then, you are possessed of superior powers of mind, remem- 
ber, that the source from whence they emanate is divine. Esteem 
the gift very highly for the Giver's sake ; and seek to bring it to 
that perfection, of which he has made it susceptible. Use your 
talents, as not abusing them. Keep them in the dependent, subor- 
dinate station which they are intended to occupy. Expect not from 
them more than they are capable of performing. But expect some- 
thing from them. Do something with them. Cannot you find 
any use for them ? Take them to God. He has large fields for 
their employment. There is ample room in his vineyard. Pray 
that he would send you forth to labor in some way or other in that 
plenteous harvest, whose laborers are so few. There is nothing so 
sweet, as this simple committal of your way to one, who is infi- 
nitely able to guide and protect you in it. " In all thy ways ac- 
knowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths." 2 Then they be- 
come paths of usefulness indeed. The most, brilliant fancy, the 
profoundest judgment, the clearest understanding, the most exten- 
sive learning, are in themselves less than nothing. But entreat 
the blessing of God upon them ; and you shall find they will be 
worth ju-t so much as he pleases. The infidel exerts the whole 
force of his understanding, blinded as it is by the god of this world, 
in opposing the doctrine of the cross. Let yours, illumined by a 
beam from the fountain of light, be no less unequivocally devoted 
to the service of the cross. Think not the time lost that you spend 
in study, if you are studying in and for God. Do not say — c I will 
lay aside the vanity of human learning, and trust only to the divine 
teaching for powers of sound argument and appropriate expres- 
sion.' You might with equal justice say — 'I will abandon the 
superfluous toil of ploughing my lands, and confide in Providence 
for a plentiful crop.' It is true in both these cases, that the increase 
cometh from God only ; but it is no less true, that he will have the 
planting and the watering to be ours. God will not help you, if 
you refuse to help yourself. The trust of the slothful is an im- 
pious and a foolhardy trust. His mind, like his vineyard, shall be 
grown over with weeds. 

1 Luke xix. 12 — 16. 2 Proverbs iii. 6. 



MEMOIR OF MARY JANE GRAHAM. 29 

'In intellectual, as well as in spiritual gifts, " the Spirit divideth 
unto every man severally as he will." Thus we read that Ci Be- 
zaleel was filled with the Spirit of God, in all manner of workman- 
ship, to work all manner of work, of the engraver, and of the cun- 
ning workman, and the embroiderer." 1 And if these meaner talents 
come directly from him, how much more the nobler properties of 
the understanding ! Are you indebted to his bounty for the pos- 
session of a piercing and commanding intellect, and strong powers 
of reason ? lam sure he did not give them to you for nothing. 
Why fold that napkin round them? It is your Lord's treasure. 
What possible right have you to " bury it in the earth ?" Do what 
you will with your own, if indeed you can find anything which is 
your own. But beware how T 3^011 trifle .with what is his. He is 
coming, and will expect to "receive it with usury.*' 2 

'Consider — had those powers of mind belonged to you as the 
bondman of Satan, how would you have toiled to perfect them for 
his service ! How much mischief would you have contrived to do 
with them ! And shall " the Lord's freeman" take no pains to 
improve his talents in his Redeemer's cause? Shall no good be 
done with them, now that they are Christ's? It is in truth a 
strange doctrine, that they must lie dormant, because Satan has no 
longer any claim upon their exertion. 

' Why is it, that we have such a dread of calling in the aid of 
our reasoning powers ? Is it not because we look upon reason as 
something of our own? If we reason in faith, is it not the Spirit 
of our Father speaking within us, just as much as in any other 
mode of addressing the unconverted? If we employ human means 
only so far as we have the warrant of Scripture, of past experience 
and of present providences ; if we cultivate our faculties in the 
humblest and simplest dependence upon God ; surely this is neither 
making flesh our arm, nor "leaning to our own understanding.'" 3 

Some difficulties connected with study are then discussed in 
interesting connection with Christian principles. 

'I cannot but attribute many of the difficulties which perplex 
and obstruct the Christian student, to his not studying sufficiently 
in faith. We do not pursue our intellectual contemplations in the 
same simple, child-like dependence, which we are sometimes en- 
abled to carry into our other duties. We make study an employ- 
ment too entirely secular. We are apt to consider it as something 
wholly apart from religion. It is one of those subjects, upon which 
we do not permit ourselves to converse freely with our heavenly 
Father. To apply to him at every step for counsel and assistance, 
would convey to us an idea of presumption. We are afraid to trifle 
with the majesty of God, by expecting that he will take an interest 
in the mere earthly improvement of the intellect. That he both 
gave us this intellect, and bestowed on us the means of its cultiva- 
tion, is admitted by us beyond the possibility of a doubt. We 

1 Exodus xxxv. 30—35. 2 Matthew xx. 27. Luke xix. 20—23. 3 Proverbs iii. 5. 



30 MEMOIR OF MARY JANE GRAHAM. 

adore the bounty which has adorned and enriched us. But we 
hesitate to believe in a condescension which shall stoop to notice the 
petty progress of each minute portion of this intellect, and make its 
daily and hourly advancement the object of benevolent concern. I 
would not. my beloved fellow Christians, utter one single expression 
which might impair your veneration for the Divine Majesty. But 
in this timid reserve I perceive no marks of genuine veneration. 
Your privilege is to draw near to God, with the tender reverence, 
the sacred familiarity of a beloved child. To shrink from his pre- 
sence with the retiring fearfulness of a slave, is to dishonor the 
scripture representation of his attributes. And in which of your 
earthly afMrs can you hope that the benevolence of your Father 
will be interested, if not in the cultivation of your reason ? It is 
the gift by which he has distinguished you from the rest of his 
earthly creation. It is that which stamps you with the impress of 
Divinity, which tells you, you are born to immortality. The im- 
mensity of condescension by which the Most High bends his 
regard to any of our paltry concerns, is indeed beyond conception, 
as it is beyond praise. But if, where all is so unworthy, I might 
dare to mention one thing as less unworthy of his notice, it would 
be the progress of the mind. We " are fearfully and wonderfully 
made." But our intellectual faculties are the surpassing wonder, 
the crowning excellence of God's creation. The countless worlds 
that are scattered over the infinity of space, declare the glory of 
God. The magnificence which created, the strength which up- 
holds, the wisdom which governs the mighty system, afford inex- 
haustible matter of wonder and adoration. But the intellect, which 
is able to reflect upon all this, is something far more admirable, in 
w T hich the glory of God is more greatly conspicuous. The original 
formation of reason is not, however, more wonderful, than the 
improvement of which it is capable. A man of a highly cultivated 
understanding appears altogether a being of a different order from 
one wholly destitute of the advantages of education. Reason, as it 
is the noblest of our faculties, so it is the most capable of being con- 
ducted to a high degree of perfection. And God is glorified in the 
perfection of his works. When therefore you cannot confidently 
look for communion with God in the exercises of your understand- 
ing ; when you are afraid to expect his co-operation in the use of 
the meanest ^of those human aids which he has given you for its 
improvement, it can only be accounted for in two ways. This hesi- 
tation proceeds either from the absence of a religious motive, or from 
an infirmity of faith. If you have no decidedly religious motives 
for your studies, I do not see how, with any color of propriety, you 
can devote yourself to them at all. I am not surprised to hear that 
doubts and difficulties throng your path. But if you are seeking 
to cultivate your understanding with a single eye to God's glory, 
you may so conduct each one of your literary employments as to 

1 Psalm cxxxix. 14. 



MEMOIR OF MARY JANE GRAHAM. 31 

enjoy his presence all the lime you are engaged in it. Yon may 
draw near to God even in your studious hours. He will not despise 
anything that you do for him. His love accepts your worthless ser- 
vices with as much complacency as the princely obedience of an 
angel. I repeat it ; to study in faith, in a humble, simple, child- 
like faith, removes every perplexity and temptation incident to its 
pursuit. Your employments will then cease to appear altogether 
secular. Cultivating your reason as God's gift, and assured that 
he beholds not with indifference your feeble attempts to glorify him 
in this greatest wonder of his creative power ; its commonest exer- 
cises will becorne in a measure sacred as the exercises of religion. 
Spiritual improvement, with no lingering step, will accompany 
your intellectual progress. "Holiness to the Lord" will be written 
upon the most trivial of your studies.' 

The influence of a vain-glorious spirit, as the canker upon this 
holy principle of faith, is pointedly illustrated. 

' When once the thought of what men will say of us is permitted 
to mingle with our studies, all spiritual comfort in them is at an 
end. Our faith must necessarily languish. It can no longer be a 
living faith — an active principle. " How can ye believe, which re- 
ceive honor one of another ?" was the severe rebuke of Jesus to the 
vain-glorious Pharisees. 1 When I observe a Christian delighted 
with the homage that is paid to his eloquence, his judgmenl, or his 
taste — should he tell me, that his " love is not waxing cold" — that 
his faith is as strong as when none but God cared for his obscure 
name, I should be beyond measure astonished at such a circum- 
stance, if, indeed, I could credit its reality. But in truth, the as- 
sertion only proves that the man's heart must be already " hardened 
through the deceitfulness of sin ;" or that he has never known what 
true faith is ; for u how can he believe," so long as he is " receiving 
honor from men ?" ' 2 

The snare of self-indulgence connected with study, is most profit- 
ably treated. 

' I have all along supposed, that you are studying with a view 
to the benefit of others, rather than to your own gratification. Yet 
even in this case self-indulgence may insinuate itself into your pur- 
suits. If you possess a talent for them, they will prove so attractive 
to you, that you will become attached to them for their own sake. 
You will be tempted to prolong your pleasing employments, and 
suffer them gradually to steal something from the time appointed 
for other duties. We have already touched upon the absorbing 
nature of our mathematical studies, and the intellectual disadvan- 
tages, which ensue from giving way to their silent encroachments. 

1 John v. 44. 
2 To one of her correspondents she expresses her own perplexity about continuing her 
studies on account of the snares which she had found in them. ' I reflect that study has 
been to me like the stuff of Achan, beneath which was concealed the cursed thing. I 
know that my cursed thing is self-love, and seeking my own will, honor, pleasure, and 
wisdom — and not those of Jesus.'' See also her letter, March 22, 1827, p. 26. 



32 MEMOIR OF MARY JANE GRAHAM. 

These, however, are of small moment, when compared with their 
corroding influence upon our spiritual enjoyment. An excessive 
fondness for these abstruse meditations, a habit of indulging in them 
for their own sake, will be as a worm at the root of our communion 
with God. A lamentable declension from his ways, will be the 
probable consequence. By insensible degrees the thoughts of our 
literary pursuits will begin to mingle with our serious meditations. 
Then, the hour of study will break in upon the hour of prayer, and 
perhaps in time may totally interrupt or supersede it. Who can 
tell the train of evils, which will follow such an intermission of our 
spiritual watchfulness ? When prayer is omitted, study is unsancti- 
fiecl. Every selfish motive has free permission to enter; nay, is in- 
vited, as it were, to take possession of the heart, whose sentinel has 
thus deserted his post. And with what impertinent excuses do we 
entertain conscience all the time! 'I am just now so occupied, 
that I am scarcely in frame for prayer. Were I to attempt, it, I 
should find it impossible to disengage my thoughts from the busy, 
perplexing reflections, which have taken fast hold of them. When 
I have followed out these investigations to some satisfactory conclu- 
sion ; — when I have considered this or that point a little more fully; 
when I have conquered this difficulty, or correcied that mistake ; — 
then my mind will be in a placid, uninterrupted frame. Then 
shall be my hour of prayer. I shall then betake myself to my 
spiritual duties with tranquillity and delight; whereas, now they 
would be a weariness, a formality.' Thus the hour of prayer is put 
off, to "a more convenient season." Our contemplations detain us 
longer than we had anticipated. The evening shades thicken 
round us ; still we are deeply engaged in our inquiry; still unsat- 
isfied with the result. Midnight surprises us at our labors ; and at 
last the lateness of the hour warns us to repose, before we have 
found time to pray. A sense of languor and drowsiness — the nat- 
ural result of our intense mental exertions — either quite prevents 
our devotions, or compels us to insult God with a prayer from which 
the heart is absent. We retire to rest with the painful feeling that 
we have lost a day. For every Christian must be sensible, that he 
cannot rob God of his portion of the day, without robbing himself 
of the whole. Still the deceitfulness of sin will follow us with a 
lyng consolation. 'It is but one day; to-morrow I shall awake, 
refreshed, and my first thoughts shall be with God.' Let us not 
silence conscience with this deceitful plea. If I am not greatly mis- 
taken, this one lost day is the forerunner of many more. Our foot 
has begun to slide, our steps to decline. To a heart prone to de- 
part from God, this retrograde motion is natural and easy, while the 
effort to regain a forward progress is immensely difficult. The sin 
to which we have yielded to-day, will revisit us to-morrow with 
more urgent solicitations. Self, having obtained the indulgence 
of one day, will plead hard for another. To make no more than 
one deviation from the straight path, is infinitely more difficult than 
not to deviate from it at all. " The backslider in heart shall be 



MEMOIR OF MARY JANE GRAHAM. 33 

filled with his own ways." 1 Perhaps the very circumstance of hav- 
ing- a religious motive for study, may then be used by us as a cloak 
to hide our defection. 'AH my pursuits are designed to fit me for 
engaging in God's service. I cannot therefore go very much out of 
the way of duty, by devoting to them a little more time than pru- 
dence might otherwise have dictated. My present diligence will 
one day be turned to account in the cause of religion ; it cannot, 
therefore, be wholly misplaced.' Thus, in the plenitude of self-in- 
dulgence, we can talk to ourselves about our zeal for the Lord of 
Hosts. Our conduct resembles that of the priests, who "offered 
polluted bread upon the altar, and then said, 'Wherein have we 
polluted thee !" ' 2 If we would offer any acceptable service to God, 
it must not be thus defiled with self. "Hath the Lord as great de- 
light in" our worthiest pursuits, "as in obeying the voice of the 
Lord?" We are told that "to obey is better than sacrifice, and to 
hearken than the fat of rams." 3 Our poor worthless attempts in 
the cause of our Redeemer can be of no value, but as they are ac- 
cepted by God through his intercession. How foolish then to im- 
agine that we can succeed, while we neglect thus offering them to 
God in frequent and faithful prayers ! If we will work in our own 
strength, we must expect to be left to such success as our own 
strength is able to insure. 

'Do you, upon serious reflection, perceive, that you are now 
yielding in any way to this self-indulgent temper? Let me ear- 
nestly recommend a temporary cessation, if possible, from the em- 
ployments that have ensnared you. A month, a week, in some 
cases even a day, rescued from your too fondly cherished occupa- 
tions, and devoted to earnest prayer for future preservation and di- 
rection, may enable you to resume them without danger. But, as 
you value your peace and spirituality of mind, beware of returning 
to them, till you experience so much sweetness in heavenly things, 
as to make the very best of earthly things appear trifling and in- 
sipid in the comparison. The memory of Henry Martyn is sacred 
to every Christian student. The rule by which he regulated his 
literary pursuits, deserves to be called the golden rule of study. 
Let us carry it into all the parts of human learning. It will strip 
them of every excessive and ensnaring attraction. ' So deep' — says 
his biographer — ' was his veneration for the word of God, that when 
a suspicion arose in his mind, that any other book he might be 
studying was about to gain an undue influence over his mind, he 
instantly laid it aside ; nor would lie resume it, till he had felt 
and realized the paramount excellence of the Divine oracles.' 

She adverts to what she had said above, 4 as suggesting a safe- 
guard against some temptations of self-sufficiency and self-depend- 
ence. 

' The only effectual remedy I have met with, is, to consider hu- 
man reason and spiritual teaching in one respect exactly in the 

1 Prov. xiv. 14.' 2 Malach ii. 7. 3 1 Sam. xv. 22. * Pages 27, 28. 



34 MEMOIR OF MARY JANE GRAHAM. 

same point of view : I mean, as both freely bestowed by God, to be 
increased, continued, or suspended at his pleasure. I would con- 
sider every little improvement in my studies ; the smallest exten- 
sion of my intellectual powers ; the least ray of light that shines in 
upon my natural reason, when engaged in the commonest earthly 
speculations ; — all these I would consider as coming just as directly 
and absolutely from the Spirit of my God, as I do those sacred in- 
fluences which inform and comfort my spiritual existence. Ceasing 
to look upon reason as our own, we should cease to lean upon it 
with a misplaced confidence. What we expect from it would be 
expected from the God to whom it belongs, not from ourselves, who 
have no right in it. The only way to preclude all glorying and 
trusting in our own things, is, to have nothing of our own. Then, 
when all is God's, we can neither confide too much, nor expect 
too largely. Thus David acted. He said — " I will not trust in my 
bow, neither shall my sword save me." Did he therefore resign the 
use of the sword and of the bow ? No : but he ascribed the strength 
which moved his arm in wielding them to God, — " It is God that 
girdeth me with strength" — "He-teacheth my hands to war, and 
my fingers to fight." 1 There is nothing so reasonable or so delight- 
ful as this unreserved ascription of all our intellectual powers to 
" God our Maker, who teacheth us more than the beasts of the 
earth, and maketh us wiser than the fowls of heaven." 2 He who 
thus realizes the property of God in his reasoning faculties, may 
without arrogance indulge in anticipation of their usefulness, which 
to a weaker faith, would seem the height of presumption. It is not 
that he esteems the instrument too highly ; but that, viewing it 
as God's instrument^ he can set no bounds to its efficiency. He 
does not imagine that his own arm can bring victory. But through 
God he knows he shall do valiantly. He enters deeply into the 
prophet's feelings — "I cannot speak, for I am a child." But the 
answer of the Lord is graven upon his memory — " Whatsoever I 
command thee, thou shalt speak." 3 He is ready to exclaim with 
Moses — "Who am I, that I should go upon the Lord's errand? I 
am slow of speech, and of a slow tongue." But his diffidence van- 
ishes before the firm assurance that God " will be with his mouth, 
and teach him what to say." 4 To cultivate our reasoning powers 
with this absolute hopelessness of their single efficacy, and these 
large expectations from them as instruments in the hand of God, 
is to bring a certain blessing upon all that we do with them. Hope 
nothing for yourself. Think nothing too great to hope from the 
bounty of your God. A firm adherence to this simple rule would 
enable you to bring your reason to the highest degree of perfec- 
tion ; for God will honor those who thus honor him. "Cease then 
from your own wisdom." " Trust in the Lord with all your heart, 
and lean not to your own understanding." 5 Sure I am that if your 

1 Psalms xliv. 6; xviii. 32; cxliv. 1. 2 j OD xxxv. 11. 3 Jeremiah 1. 6, 7. 

* Exodus iii. 11; iv. 10 — 12. 5 Proverbs xxiii. 4 ; iii. 5. 



MEMOIR OF MARY JANE GRAHAM. 35 

trust be thus in the Lord, he will teach you i{ excellent things in 
counsels and knowledge." You shall both "know the certainty of 
the words of truth," and be able to " answer the words of truth to 
them that send unto you." 1 — Again, 'It is the perfection of intel- 
lectual enjoyment to receive reason entirely as the gift of our God, 
and every improvement of it, as a fresh token of his love. Every 
thing is good, must be good, if we view it in this light. How shall 
it not be good, if it comes directly from our. Father's hand ? How 
shall it not be very good, if sanctioned by our Father's blessing? 
You know that " a gift is as a precious stone in the eyes of him 
that hath it; whithersoever it turneth, it prospereth." 2 And then 
— " the blessing of the Lord, it maketh rich ; and he addeth no sor- 
row with it." 3 The poorest trifle becomes valuable, if it be the gift 
of love. But reason is itself a precious stone, a costly gem. When 
received as a gift it becomes a charmed stone, a talisman to shield 
from harm, and to insure prosperity. Only acknowledge all your 
earthly acquirements in this light, and you shall find, that, which- 
ever way you turn them, success shall attend your endeavor. Re- 
gard every one of your mental faculties as given to you by creating 
love. Rejoice in the gift, because redeeming love has restored it to 
you with a sevenfold blessing. Here is a shield of love, if the 
shield of faith appear insufficient for your defence. For will not 
you earnestly guard against the abuse of a thing so given and so 
blessed V 

Her encouragement and advice in the resistance of self-indulgent 
temptations is truly excellent. 

' It is encouraging to reflect, that, if " you are Christ's, all things 
are yours." 4 Whatever talents he has given you are yours, freely 
to use and improve. They are also his ; therefore you may con- 
fidently expect, that he will get glory to himself out of them. And 
this, if I mistake not, is your wish. Your acquirements are of no 
value in your eyes, except as you can use them for Christ. Begin, 
then, and end all your studies with him. Seek to find communion 
with God in every one of them. " Do all in the name of the Lord 
Jesus, and to the glory of God." 5 The curse which clings to the 
best of earthly things, and which once shed its baneful influence 
on all your intellectual faculties, is now taken away in Christ Jesus. 
Once perhaps your talents might have made you a splendid mis- 
chief, a brilliant pest, to society. Now if you use them in faith, 
they shall be an instrument of healing and of blessing.' 

The following closing remarks place the balance between intel- 
lectual and Christian wisdom with admirable clearness and beauty. 

"On the whole, in attempting to decide upon the true merits of 
human learning, my readers will not acquit me of the charge of 
inconsistency, unless they bear in mind the twofold principle upon 

i Proverbs xxii. 20, £l. 2 ibid. xvii. 8. 3 Ibid. x. 22. 

* 1 Corinthians iii. 22. 23. s fjolossians iii. 17. 1 Corinthians x. 31. 



36 MEMOIR OF MARY JANE GRAHAM. 

which my assertions are founded, and from which I hope I shall 
not appear to have deviated. On the one hand, I conceive that to 
enlarge and strengthen, to cultivate and refine, to enrich and beau- 
tify the intellect, is of all the objects of mere earthly attainment, 
incomparably the most worthy. Viewing study in this light, I 
cannot but speak in its favor with some degree of liveliness and 
passion, as one who has tasted, though very slightly, of the bene- 
fits which flow from it. On the other hand, when I compare this 
best of earthly things with the lowest and meanest of heavenly at- 
tainments, it sinks ineffably in my esteem ; no longer possessing 
any intrinsic worth, but valuable only from its subserviency to these 
higher objects. Considering it, therefore, in this point of view, I 
am exceedingly fearful of overrating its efficacy. I am led to speak 
of it with the caution due to a pursuit, which is equally capable 
of becoming a singular blessing, or an extraordinary snare. Thus, 
when I weigh intellectual cultivation in any earthly balance, I 
cannot but adjudge to it a decided superiority. But when I place 
it in the balance of the sanctuary, I perceive that it has no weight 
at all, but what it derives from the blessings of God on accompany- 
ing circumstances. By affixing to human learning any indepen- 
dent value, we take from it that which it really has ; for though 
exceedingly useful as a submissive attendant upon divine knowl- 
edge, it can do us nothing but harm, if we permit its entrance as a 
dominating usurper. 

j We should be less apt to set our hearts upon the pleasures of 
intellect, if we reflected how much they partake of the evanescent 
nature of all earthly enjoyments. When this little moment which 
we call life is fled, of what use shall our studies be to us? Our 
enlarged faculties will then discern in an instant more than a thou- 
sand lives of intense application would now enable us to discover. 
Our earthly pursuits and attachments are among those "childish 
things, which we shall put away, 7 ' when we arrive at man's estate. 
The very best and wisest of them are but the " summi amores pue~ 
rorum, qui una cum prcetexta ponentur.' n While, however, we 
are in this fleeting state of existence, we must not despise those 
temporary delights and assistances, which the goodness of God has 
so wonderfully adapted to our imperfection ; nor need we fear to 
avail ourselves of them with due moderation, and a simple de- 
pendence upon God's blessing. But never let it be said of the 
Christian, that he is so much absorbed in "things temporal," as to 
neglect, for one moment, " the things which are eternal." ' 

The intrinsic excellence of these remarks render an apology for 
their introduction needless. The high and general importance 
of the subject, the full development of its true principles, the solid 
and expanded views, and above all, the Christian wisdom, spiritual 
simplicity, and unction which pervade the discussion, will commend 
it to the profitable attention of every intelligent reader. The trea- 

1 ' Choice delights of children, which will be laid aside with their pretexta' — the gown 
worn by the children of the Roman nobility, till it was changed for the toga. 



MEMOIR OF MARY JANE GRAHAM. 37 

tise itself (the writer here speaks from more competent judgment 
than his own) might probably be considered by men of science, as 
not formed upon the more approved system of mathematical study ; 
and, though displaying much power and clearness of mind, is 
occasionally inaccurate in definition and illustration. The prac- 
tical and excursive remarks (judging from the preceding extracts, 
and some others hereafter to be adduced) will however be gener- 
ally considered to possess no common value. 

The writer has been induced to extract so largely from this in- 
structive manuscript, chiefly with a view to two important classes 
of persons in the present day. In this era of religious excitement, 
the minds of a large mass are at work, inquiring, or rather specu- 
lating in a feverish state of restlessness and perplexity. Their feel- 
ings are interested, animated, and more or less intensely occupied 
with the engrossing subjects now brought before the church. Yet 
often — among the young especially — -whether from defect of edu- 
cation or of mental cultivation, their judgments have little power 
of discrimination; their principles are confined; and their profes- 
sion mainly characterized by spiritual dissipation, which exposes 
them to the besetting snares of a disputatious temper, self-conceit, 
and self-delusion. To such we would strongly recommend the 
principles, obligations, and advantages of Christian study, which 
Miss Graham has so admirably laid out before them. The solid 
influence of these intellectual habits upon her own character, fur- 
nishes the most satisfactory illustration of their importance. So 
far from diverting her attention from the supreme concerns of eter- 
nity, they enabled her, through Divine teaching, the more steadily 
to concentrate her interest in habitual, enlivening, and practical 
contemplation. 

To those among us, whose habits and pleasures are found in the 
field of intellect, we cannot but observe, how much they may learn 
from this highly-gifted saint, of that "simplicity and godly sincer- 
ity," that careful inspection of motives, that watchful subordina- 
tion of natural indulgence to the supreme object of the glory of 
God, which can alone exclude the blast of Divine jealousy from 
these legitimate sources of enjoyment. AH her views of science 
were received through a spiritual medium, and elevated her soul to 
the hallowed atmosphere of communion with her God. The spirit 
of prayer was the constant guard upon her intellectual studies. 
Never did she enter upon the daily course of tuition with her young 
cousin without earnestly imploring the blessing of her heavenly 
Father. We have already seen a specimen of her spirit of supplica- 
tion on this interesting subject, upon which it will be well for the 
student to meditate, till his heart becomes deeply imbued with its 
simple spirituality and enlargement. 1 How delightful again is the 
pattern set forth in one of her letters ! Speaking of some perplexi- 

1 See her Prayer before Study, pp. 22, 23. 



38 MEMOIR OF MARY JANE GRAHAM. 

ties relative to tlie pursuing of her studies, she adds — ' I am now 
resolved, God helping- me, to give this week to prayer; presenting 
each of my studies to Jesus, that he may prosper and sanctify it by 
his Spirit, take from it all self-love, and cause me in all my em- 
ployments, even in the least, to aim at his glory, and to labor in 
his name. Join with me in this prayer.' 1 Not less instructive is 
the practical spirit that pervaded her studies. Nothing was done 
for self-indulgence. Her pursuits were only valuable, in propor- 
tion as they were consecrated. In everything " to her to live was 
Christ." Nothing besides seemed worthy the name of life. Noth- 
ing seemed to command her interest independent of this great 
object. To a correspondent, who had acquired her sentiments rela- 
tive to the cultivation of her mind, she writes — ' I think it may be 
done, with a prayer, however, and a resolution, that all that we 
do shall one day be employed in the service of Christ. I think 
the only thing, is never to lose sight of this great object. And 
to this end I know no other means than that of making it a sub- 
ject of prayer. I have often been prevented from praying for 
success in study, because I thought it was better only to mention 
spiritual wants at the throne of grace. But I now think, that 
after having asked a blessing upon our common occupations, we 
are less likely to forget the end, which alone can enable us to 
follow them without danger P Apart from this holy simplicity 
of principle, (the exclusive character of the Christian Student,) the 
subtle temptation begins to operate of preferring talent to sound 
piety; 'learning,' as Mr. Baxter tersely remarks — 'is but the 
pleasing of the fancy in the knowledge of unnecessary things ;" 8 
intellectual pleasures are purchased at the fearful expense of the 
loss of heavenly communion with God. In the cultivation of this 
spirit, we shall be enabled to honor our God, and to receive his 
needful aid in literary as well as in religious pursuits. The solid 
advantages of study will thus be safely enjoyed, the glory of our 
God and Saviour will be clearly manifested, and his presence real- 
ized to the intelligent and active faith of his servants. 

But in returning to Miss Graham, we may add, that her studies 
were not confined to the severer branches of knowledge. She had 
cultivated an acquaintance with the Roman classics with consider- 
able success. 

To one of her correspondents she recommends the study of the 
Latin Grammar, as the means of a clear understanding of ' that 
noble language,' and of ' ennobling the intellect by the reading of 
the poets and historians of that language.' Two other advantages 
she notices — that of a more distinct and enlarged acquaintance 
with our own ' language ; in great part deduced from the Latin,' 

1 See her Prayer before Study, just alluded to. Baxter's Address to the Blessed Spirit 
(quoted in another part of this volume) gives a fine illustration of the same self-abased, 
dependent frame — ' Without thee, books are senseless scrawls, studies are dreams, learning 
is a glow-worm, and xcU is but icantonness, impertinence, and folly.'' 

2 Reasons for the Christian Religion. Part II. c. xii. 



MEMOIR OF MARY JANE GRAHAM. 39 

and that of forming a good style, adding — ' that the English style 
of a person well instructed in Latin acquires great richness and fer- 
tility from the number of classical and energetic words of which it 
is composed. 5 While however in her manuscript she points out the 
substantial advantages of this instructive field of intellect, she does 
not fail to advert to the restriction which sound Christian judg- 
ment is constrained to impose upon an indiscriminate indulgence. 
'If,' she observes, 'we cultivate classic literature with a view only 
to increase our fund of critical knowledge, we shall miss many of 
the benefits which we might have derived from pursuing it with a 
more valuable and extensive design. The true ends of that fasci- 
nating study are to impart chasteness and elegance to the style, to 
enrich the mind with manly sentiments, beautiful images, and poet- 
ical associations.' She elsewhere recommends the cultivation of 
this field of literature as 'a corrective to' what she calls ' the cold 
and jejune expression, which marks the style of the mere mathe- 
matician. I acknowledge,' she adds, ' the Christian objections that 
are urged, not without weight, against the study of the ancient 
authors. 1 I am only advocating them under proper restrictions, and 
with due moderation. Thus guarded from abuse, let them walk 
hand in hand with the more abstruse sciences. They will mutu- 
ally aid and correct each other. A high degree of classic elegance 
is consistent with strong powers of sound argumentation. The 
combination forms a style of reasoning as pleasing as it is convinc- 
ing. The simplicity of a mathematical style is thus kept from de- 
generating into poverty, and its cautious correctness is not permitted 
to stiffen into a frozen sterility.' 

In the field of modern literature and taste, she was perfectly fa- 
miliar with the French, Italian, and Spanish languages. For the 
first two she had proper masters. The last she learnt from a Cas- 
tilian, who was introduced to her father's house, in exchange for 
teaching him her own language. In order to improve herself in 
the knowledge of the languages, she made considerable use of them 
in mutual correspondence with her young friends. For the same 
purpose she translated Goldsmith's Vicar of Wakefield (a work not 
congenial to her taste, but selected as a good specimen of Eng- 
lish style) into French, Latin, and Spanish, and commenced an 
Italian Version. She made a similar use of Gil Bias, to perfect 
herself in the Spanish language for an important object, which 
will shortly be noticed at length. She appears, however, to have 
' ultimately relinquished this work, for a reason equally character- 
istic of her good sense and Christian simplicity. ' Should I be- 
come' — she writes to her correspondent — 'perfect mistress of the 

1 These objections, so far as they are valid, refer mainly to the mode of study or in- 
struction, without any reference to the Divine standard of the book of God ; thus leaving 
the mind open to the influence of all that is corrupt both in principle and practice. Un- 
der a wise Christian discipline, however, much enlargement of mind and varied interest 
will be gained from this source; added to what is of primary moment, — the sound learn- 
ing so necessary to a just interpretation of the Sacred Scriptures. 



40 MEMOIR OF MARY JANE GRAHAM. 

pleasing and pregnant style of Gil Bias (of which I intend to write 
at least two volumes), it would be almost too light for the serious 
subject on which I wish to write.' In the same spirit the project even 
of these two volumes seem to have been quickly laid aside. The 
next week she writes to the same correspondent — c I told you that 
I had begun to write Gil Bias very diligently. But yesterday I 
thought of the folly of thus employing myself about a work in 
which I wished Christ to do all. I am therefore determined to 
give the remainder of this week and the following to reading 
the Bible with prayer? 

The best English writers were familiar to her. especially the 
standard works connected with the Philosophy of the Mind. She 
appears to have made herself thoroughly acquainted with the prin- 
ciples of Locke. She speaks in one of her letters of reading his im- 
portant Essay on the Conduct of the Understanding for the twen- 
tieth time with renewed interest, and recommends to her correspon- 
dent the study of this work with great earnestness, as the means 
of giving her an increased thirst for pursuits purely intellectual. 
Stewart was read with much improvement to herself. Butler's 
Analogy also was upon her first shelf. The following letter to her 
cousin gives a lively and intelligent view of her interest in these 
valuable writers. 

1 Hastings, July 26, 1823. 
{ I am very glad that you like Butler. I found, as you do, not 
only that he is humble himself, but that he inspires his readers 
with sentiments of humility. He shows them the littleness of hu- 
man reason, and how weak it is, where it will not submit to the 
light of revelation. T will tell you what the good Stewart has done 
for me. I have long felt that all the efforts I have made to obtain 
true knowledge have been almost useless. Stewart has shown me 
the reason of this. It is because I have always allowed the greatest 
confusion of my ideas. I have never arranged them. He has shown 
me that my mind is like a large sack filled with rubbish of all kinds, 
and where perhaps something that is useful may be found: but 
all is packed together in so confused a manner, that whosoever 
sought for it would be seeking a needle in a bottle of hay. I am 
almost in despair ; however, I am resolved to make every effort to 
arrange a little better the confused mass ; and I am more than 
ever convinced, that the only sure way of having the head filled 
with clear and well-defined ideas is, to accustom oneself to put 
one's thoughts upon paper. I must tell you a resolution which I 
desire to execute ; it is to write down from time to time all the new 
ideas and facts, whether original or acquired by reading or con- 
versation, which I have gained. By doing this we should know 
the progress which our minds make ; and we should not forget, as 
we now do, the ideas which pass through the mind without making 
any impression, but which might be very useful if gathered to- 
gether, and reserved to a proper occasion. 5 



MEMOIR OF MARY JANE GRAHAM 41 

Her acquaintance with the Greek language only extended to the 
reading of the Greek Testament. The further progress in this de- 
partment of literature was hindered by her application to other 
studies necessary for the superintendence of the education of her 
cousin. She was proposing to commence the study of Hebrew, 
but increasing indisposition precluded her from renewing her habits 
of application in any fresh track of interesting exercise. 

Miss Graham studied the theory of music with much attention, 
and wrote a short but correct development of its principles 1 for the 
use of a young cousin, then preparing for the situation of governess, 
and whom she had in part educated for this important sphere with 
anxious pains and interest. Apart from this object she would not 
probably have devoted so large a portion of her valuable time to 
this study, as it was a matter of frequent concern to her. to observe 
the preponderance given to this elegant and fascinating science, 
above the more solid and useful accomplishments. 

In some of her more lively exercises of mind she took up the sub- 
ject of chemistry with great delight, making long extracts from the 
books which she read, and going over every part till she thoroughly 
understood it. Without having any more definite object for this 
study, she felt that some absorbing occupation of this character 
was necessary to beguile the long and wearisome hours of sick- 
ness. For the same object botany also attracted her attention. 
Thus with various and successive occupations her mind was al- 
ways maintained in active, intelligent, and profitable exercise. A 
striking feature of her character (one which entered into her recrea- 
tions equally with her studies, and which formed the basis of her 
high mental superiority) was a total concentration of every power 
of thought and feeling in the object of pursuit immediately before 
her. 2 Indeed, as her father observes, ' she followed Solomon's ad- 
vice in everything she undertook — " Whatsoever thine hand findeth 
to do, do it with thy might !"' 3 

Her peculiar singleness of aim preserved her, in the midst of her 
intellectual enjoyments, from the baneful influence of self-indul- 
gence, and stimulated her to apply her literary pursuits to valuable 
practical purposes. Her great object in the study of the Spanish 

1 A Letter to a young Pianoforte player. 

2 One of her letters gives a graphical picture of this remarkable concentration of mind. 

« Plymouth, May 10, 1825. 

'When the fury of learning takes possession of me, I cannot think of anything else. 
If I am seized with a fit for studying any particular thing, I cannot give my mind to an- 
other studies, however much 1 usually delight in them. I now wish to study Spanish 
and Music. But I am so carried away with my ancient mania for Mathematics, that, 
although my head aches, and I cannot think without inconvenience of anything, I am 
perpetually puzzling my brains to resolve questions, which will never be of any use to 
me. It is said, that everything is given for some good. 1 cannot imagine why I have 
been endued with this invincible propensity to a study, which is always diverting me 
from more useful and feminine occupations.' This letter, it will be remarked, was written 
several years before her Treatise on Mathematical Study, and before the important intel- 
lectual and moral benefit of that study, which her Treatise so fully develops, had opened 
to her mind. 

3 Eccles. ix. 19. 



42 MEMOIR OF MARY JANE GRAHAM. 

language, was to obtain a medium of communication with the 
Spanish refugees. The discovery of a strong tincture of infidelity 
among them, combined with the recollection of her own fall, to ex- 
cite a compassionate, earnest, and sympathizing concern on their 
behalf. The second part of ' The Test of Truth' opens with an 
exquisitely touching view of her feelings on this painful subject, 
[ndeed the work contains the substance of her communications with 
some of those interesting but unhappy men. It was sent to them 
with much and earnest prayer upon the eve of their departure from 
England. She had intended to have translated some of the most 
striking extracts from Paley and other writers upon the Evidences 
of Christianity ; and in one of her letters she mentions having no 
less than eleven English volumes before her mind for this purpose. 
Finding, however, that Paley had been translated, she purchased 
the work, and sent it to her Spanish friends with her own. 

The following notices will give an interesting view of the exercises 
of her mind and faith, which were strongly called out towards these 
objects of her compassion, after she was removed from immediate 
intercourse with them. 

' Sept. 8, 1825. 

'As to my Spanish, we have been so busy about the schools, that 
I have not been able to do much. But I find a delightful confi- 
dence, that this book having been the suggestion of Christ, and 
belonging to him and not to me, will be blessed by him. I have 
read one part of ' Las Ruinas,' 1 and in reading it I was struck with 
the reflection, that the best answer would be a continual reference 
to the word of God. I thought therefore of placing my observations 
on the blank pages, and of filling the margin of the printed paper 
with references. I beseech you to pray, that if I be not a fit 
instrument for the conversion of the souls of these poor Spanish 
exiles, the Holy Spirit would be pleased to raise up some other.' 

Miss Graham obtained a copy of the book, interleaved with blank 
paper for the insertion of her remarks. It appears, however, from 
this copy, now in the writer's possession, that she made very little 
progress in this task, probably thinking that the simple argument 
of " The Test of Truth" was better adapted for her purpose. 

< April 9, 1827. 
c Last week my blessed Master gave me the power of writing in 
his name to the poor Spaniards. I have written three sheets in 
English. But as I have not studied Spanish for a long time, I find 
myself in some difficulty, and must give this week to the language. 
Next week I hope to translate what I have written, and to send it 
to you ; if you will oblige me by seeing it put into their hands. 
My faith in seeing them converted to God increases every day. At 
present, " the strong man armed keepeth his palace, and his goods 

1 Volney's Ruins of Empires, translated into the Spanish — an infidel work of much 
authority with her Spanish friends. 



MEMOIR OF MARY JANE GRAHAM. 43 

are at peace." But I have confidence given me from heaven, that 
I shall see the "stronger than he," who will conquer him, and 
"take from him all his armor wherein he trusted." 1 I may not 
perhaps see this while I am here ; hut I shall not rejoice the less, 
because 1 see it in heaven.' 

About a month afterwards, we find her mind deeply exercised 
upon this work and labor of love. 

• May 5, 1827. 

\ I wrote the Spanish book in the name of Jesus, and in the 
belief that he would give me a spirit and a wisdom, which by 
nature I do not possess. I had a strong faith in the promises of 
God, to manifest himself in his own time to his own elect. But in 
the way of preparing to send it, my faith vanishes, and I have now 
only "an evil heart of unbelief." 2 To say to all the bones in the 
churchyard at Stoke — " O ye dry bones, hear the word of the 
Lord," 3 would almost seem to me easier than to say the same thing 
to souls dead in infidelity. However, I feel that 1 have courage 
even for this, since " Jesus is the resurrection and the life," because 
all the glory will be to him alone ; and because he has assured me, 
th#t, having confided myself to him, my expectations can never be 
disappointed.' 

The next letter was sent some months afterwards, with l The 
Test of Truth,' and 'Paley's Evidences.' 

< Dec. 20, 1827. 

e I send you Paley, which pleases me very much, with the letter, 
in which, without entering upon any argument about the Eviden- 
ces, &c, I have leant upon the simple proposition, that God having 
promised in the Scriptures to give his Spirit to whoever asks it w T ith 
sincerity, must either keep his promise, or not be God ; and 1 have 
endeavored to show them, that according to their own principles 
they are without excuse, if they neglect to seek their Creator in this 
manner. But if even now it do not succeed, it has been a blessing 
to me ; it has been the cause of many prayers, of many sweet 
moments of communion with Jesus. I cannot therefore but hope, 
that in the time and manner which may please him, my prayers 
will be answered. I recommend these unhappy people to you. 
Pray for them often and fervently ; possibly amongst them may be 
found some of those who were " chosen before the foundation of the 
world." ' 

In another letter formerly quoted, after having begged her friend 
to join with her in prayer for a blessing upon her studies, she added 

1 Luke xi. 21, 22. 

2 This book was ' The Test of Truth.' Her care arid anxiety for them extended to their 
temporal, as well as their spiritual distresses. As a token of affectionate sympathy, as 
well as some acknowledgment for valuable instruction received, she gladly appropriated 
the proceeds of her musical Tract to the fund raised for their relief. 

3 Ezek. xxxvii. 4. 



44 MEMOIR OP MARY JANE GRAHAM. 

in conclusion, — £ And pray for me, that I may have something to 
say to those poor Spaniards, and that my love for them may not 
grow cold.' 

The full result of her prayers and " trials of faith" on behalf of 
her Spanish friends, is among the secrets which " the day will 
declare." Meanwhile what Christian can fail to be invigorated by 
this exhibition of prayer, faith, self-denial, and patient hope in the 
work of our Divine Master? 

Allusion has been already made 1 to a disinterested project which 
she had formed of devoting herself to the work of tuition. To her 
cousin she writes, as if her heart was full of it — ' I think of it day 
and night. The opportunity of my illness appears to me excellent 
for preparing myself for my plan, if the ability for putting it into 
execution should be granted nieJ Her gracious Lord however 
was pleased to accept her in the desire, 2 not in the performance of 
her work. Protracted indisposition hindered her from giving any 
definite shape or execution to the plan, which only remains on record, 
as one among the many instances of the ceaseless activity with 
which her energies were employed in the service of her Redeemer, 
and of his Church. 

It is natural to expect to see her a " fellow-worker with God," in 
the daily course of active devotedness. She was a constant visitor 
of the poor in the most miserable abodes, under circumstances trying 
to her delicate frame and tender spirit. For some time she took a 
daily and somewhat distant walk through an uninviting part of the 
city, to spend an hour with a dying young woman, whose case had 
deeply interested her, and to whom there is every reason to believe 
that she was found the blessed messenger of life and salvation. 
Her sympathy was much called out by the temporal wants of the 
poor. Much of her leisure time was employed in working for then- 
benefit. A large chest of useful articles of clothing was constantly 
kept in her own room, whiie the opportunities of distribution were 
always improved as means of spiritual instruction to the objects of 
her consideration. Her sabbaths were entirely devoted to the service 
of God. She became a teacher in the Christ Church Sunday 
School, and though she was often exhausted at the close of the day 
by the continued excitement of her exertion, yet she ever counted 
her toil in the work of Christ to be her highest privilege and delight. 

Upon her removal from London, the interest of her intellectual 
mind continued to be called forth in the employment of a village 
sphere. A deep and habitual constraint of redeeming love regu- 
lated every mental effort. Though she diligently improved her re- 
tirement in adding to her already well-furnished storehouse ; yet 
she chiefly regarded it as the means of secretly recruiting her 
strength for the service of God. Hers was not the mind to repose 
luxuriously in ' the Castle of Indolence.' Hers was not the soul 
that could rest even in spiritual self-indulgence, insensible to the 

1 See page 23, note. 2 2 Chronicles vi. 8. 






MEMOIR OF MARY JANE GRAHAM. 45 



urgent calls of active duty. Even her delicate health was not suf- 
fered to preclude her from the self-denying exercise of Christian de- 
votedness. During the first summer of her country residence, she 
regularly attended at the parish workhouse at seven o'clock, to ex- 
plain the Scriptures to the poor previous to the commencement of 
their daily labor. This, however, like every other " labor of love," 
was an exercise of her faith, and conflict with the great enemy. 
She mentions to her cousin the repugnance which at one time she 
found to this work, and her yielding to the temptation of deferring 
it from day to day. Yet it was not long before she found the vic- 
tory of faith over inertion ; and gladly did she give the praise to 
Him, who enabled her to make a successful effort ; ' I told them of 
my intention' — she writes — ' to go every morning to pray with them 
and read the word of God. My Saviour removed every difficulty 
out of the way, and caused the women to receive me with the 
gr eat est civility.'' 

The children of the parish were the objects of constant solicitude. 
She wrote a few simple addresses for their use. She drew out also 
questions upon the parables and miracles, for the assistance of the 
Sunday School Teachers; 1 and, when prevented by indisposition 
from attending the school, she assembled the children at her own 
house for scriptural instruction. The young women also in the 
parish occupied a large share of her anxious interest; and, finding 
them unwilling to assemble at the same time and place with the 
children, she appropriated a separate evening for their instruction. 
She was, as might be supposed, a constant cottage visitor. The 
following beautiful extract from her mathematical manuscript will 
show the high and consecrated spirit with which she connected this 
humble ministration with her intellectual pleasures. Warning her 
Christian student of the dangerous snare of self-complacency, 2 she 
inquires of him — 'Do you ever experience this proud internal con- 
sciousness of superior genius or learning? God has placed a ready 
antidote within your reach. The abode of learned leisure is seldom 
far from the humble dwelling of some unlettered Christian. Thither 

1 Some of these Addresses and Questions have since been published by the Rev H. 
A. Simcoe. (Seeleys ) 

2 Her remarks upon self-complacency are so just and searching, that the Writer is 
tempted to add them in a note: 

' Self-complacency is another of those temptations, to which the student is peculiarly 
exposed. He may so far distrust his own heart, as to abstain from " doing anything 
through strife or vain-glory." He may keep out of the way of human praise. And yet 
there may be an inward complacency, a proud consciousness of superiority, equally de- 
structive to his growth in grace. He " thinks of himself more highly than he ought to 
think." He courts not the breath of applause: but he drinks in the intoxicating vapor 
of self-gratulation and esteem. There are some men, in whom pride stifles the impulses 
of vanity. If they seem to care little what others think of them, it is because they think 
so well of themselves. Their own opinion needs no confirmation. Their solitary plaudit 
is so abundantly satisfactory, that the buzz of admiring multitudes would be a superfluous 
addition. Can anything like this be found in the disciple of Jesus'? Yes — for the law of 
sin still dwells in his members. Neither this sin, nor any other shall be permitted to 
have dominion. (Romans vi. 14.) But its assaults will sometimes vex and discompose 
him. He will be tempted, according to the natural bent of his character, to seek the ap- 
plause of others, or to rest in his own.' 



46 MEMOIR OF MARY JANE GRAHAM. 

let your steps be directed. " Take sweet counsel" with your poor 
uneducated brother. There you will find the man. whom our 
"King delighteth to honor." His mean chamber, graced with one 
well-worn book, is as " the house of God, and the very gate of 
heaven." Observe how far the simplicity of his faith, and the fer- 
vor of his love, exceed anything you can find in your own expe- 
rience, cankered as it is with intellectual pride. God has taught 
him many lessons, of which all your learning has left you ignorant. 
Make him your instructor in spiritual things. He is a stranger to 
the names of your favorite poets and orators. But he is very famil- 
iar with " the sweet Psalmist of Israel." He can give you rich por- 
tions of the eloquence of one. who "spake as never man spake." 
He can neither " tell you the number of the stars, nor call them all 
by their names." But he will discourse excellently concerning " the 
star of Bethlehem." He is unable to attempt the solution of a diffi- 
cult problem. But he can enter into some of those deep things of 
God's law, which to an unhumbled heart are dark and mysterious. 
He will not talk to you "in the words which man's wisdom teach- 
eth :" but oh ! what sweet and simple expressions of Divine love are 
those which " the Holy Ghost has taught him !" He "knows noth- 
ing but Christ crucified ;" but this is the excellent knowledge, to 
which all other knowledge is foolishness. He has " the fear of the 
Lord ; that is wisdom. He departs from evil ; that is understand- 
ing." 1 When your soul is refreshed by this simple and lowly com- 
munion with one of the meanest of God's saints ; return to your 
learned retirement. Look over your intellectual possessions. Choose 
out the brightest jewel in your literary cabinet. Place it by the side 
of " the meek and quiet spirit" of this obscure Christian. Determine 
which is the " ornament of greater price." 2 Compare the boasted 
treasures of your mind with the spiritual riches of your illiterate 
brother. Run over the whole catalogue. Let not one be omitted ; 
the depth of your understanding, the strength of your reasonings, 
the brilliancy of your fancy, the fire of your eloquence. Be proud 
of them. Glory in them. You cannot. They dwindle into in- 
significance. They appear to you " as a drop of a bucket, as the 
small dust of the balance." ' 

The following letter gives a beautiful illustration of the truly 
Christian spirit, with which she inculcated upon her friends the re- 
sponsibility of persevering effort in the work of God : 

' Stoke, August 4, 1825. 
'1 think that visiting the poor is an excellent help to spirituality 
of mind, because it shows us our own weakness, when we lose sight 
for a moment of the strength of Christ. It also brings to light many 
secret corruptions, of which we were before ignorant. I am very 
anxious to hear about the Infant School. Do not be discouraged by 
the cold answers of . Rather pray for them, that more faith 

» Job xxviii. 28. 2 i p e ter iii. 4. 



MEMOIR OF MARY JANE GRAHAM. 47 

may be given to them, and a spirit of love for the souls that are 
perishing around them. Such a prayer offered in faith by one 
Christian for another will bring down a blessing upon both. I am 

very sorry that I was angry with , instead of praying for her. 

I do not think that Christians pray enough for each other. Per- 
haps the Lord is proving your faith and love by making you wait 
in this cause. If it be so, do not doubt his power to carry you 
through all you undertake in his name. From the mouth of the 
children for whom you are interested, he will cause his praises to 
be sounded. Do " not" then, " be weary in well-doing." If you 
have not already begun, let me advise you not to begin, till you 
have given a special time to the Scriptures and to prayer. I desire 
all our undertakings to be '-sanctified by the word of God and 
prayer." ' Then — referring to her own intention of setting apart 
the next week for spiritual exercises in reference to her Spanish 
communications — she asks — 'I thought perhaps that you would 
give next week to these things, and that it would be delightful to 
me to remember, that we were both thus employed at the same 
time. But if you cannot do this, pray at the time fixed by us, that 
I may have grace and faith to pass these days in dedicating myself 
to this work, and that we may both of us in all that we do be de- 
livered from a self-seeking spirit, and may take every step with our 
eyes fixed upon the cross of Jesus. I am afraid of annoying you 
by this mode of speaking of these things. But if you knew how 
full my heart is of tenderness, while I write, you would pardon the 
importunity, with which I beseech you to give yourself entirely and 
without reserve into the hands of Christ. He can give you from 
the treasures of his grace all the zeal, love, and warmth which you 
need. All is ours already by virtue of his blood. Let us make use 
of it. Let us go to him in holy boldness, and ask for all the grace 
which he is so ready to give.' Psalm lxxxi. 10. 

The pressure, however, of increasing illness constrained her to 
relinquish her own habits of personal activity for some time previous 
to her death. It was her appointed dispensation rather to suffer, 
than to do her heavenly Father's will ; while her solitary hours 
were cheered by the contemplation of the glorious prospects opening 
upon her view — "looking for the mercy of her Lord Jesus Christ 
unto eternal life" 1 

1 Jude xii. 



4 



CHAPTER IV. 



FURTHER EXTRACTS FROM HER WRITINGS AND COR- 
RESPONDENCE. 

It is not to be expected, that the quiet tenor of Miss Graham's 
habits in a retired village could furnish much variety of incident or 
detail. We shall, however, abundantly compensate for this de- 
ficiency by a more full exhibition of her fine, powerful, and spiritual 
mind, as illustrated in her writing's and correspondence. 

But this department of our work is too large to be comprehended 
in one mass. We will therefore set it forth in several distinct di- 
visions, and give her sentiments upon the fundamental Doctrines 
of the Gospel — upon subjects of interesting Theological dis- 
cussion — upon some points of moment connected with Christian 
Experience and Profession — and upon Miscellaneous Subjects. 

1. HER VIEWS OF THE GREAT DOCTRINES OF THE GOSPEL. 

Her apprehensions and statements of the grand fundamentals 
of the Christian faith were eminently scriptural. 

On the humbling doctrine of Original Sin, she justly remarks 
in a posthumous work : l — 

c It is the very first lesson in the school of Christ : and it is only 
by being well rooted and grounded in these first principles, that we 
can hope to go on to perfection. The doctrine is written in Scrip- 
ture as with a sunbeam. If we do not feel some conviction of it in 
our own hearts, it affords a sad proof that we still belong to that 
" generation that are pure in their own eyes, and yet is not washed 
from their filthiness." ' 2 

After adducing some of the most convincing scriptural evidence, 
she proceeds forcibly to illustrate the subject by the case of Infants. 

1 " The Freeness and Sovereignty of God's Justifying and Electing Grace." Not- 
withstanding the inversion of Scriptural order in the Title (which her mode of discus- 
sion unfortunately required,) and one or two incidental inaccuracies of exposition, its 
statements of Divine truth are full, clear, encouraging, and practical. The substance of 
the work was written about four years before her death, in a letter to a serious relative, 
with the desire to impart to her mind a more clear and comprehensive knowledge of the 
system of the Gospel. She brought it into its present form during her last iilness, arid 
lived only to correct the first two proof-sheets. Her object in publication is stated in her 
communication to the venerable Minister, to whom she wished to have dedicated the 
work — ' Now that I have experienced the exceeding comfort and delight, which a clear 
view of God's sovereign, absolute, free, and unmerited salvation affords in the near pros- 
pect of eternity, I am very desirous to make my poor testimony to these truths public, in 
the hope that God will bless it to others. For I know that success "is not of him that 
planteth, nor of him that watereth, but of God that giveth the increase."' 
2 Prov. xxx. 12. pp. 8, 9. 



MEMOIR OF MARY JANE GRAHAM. 49 

' Would we know the reason of this indelible pollution, which 
fallen man has transmitted to his latest descendants? let that 
given by Scripture suffice — " Who can bring a clean thing out of 
an unclean? not one." 1 But is not the new-born babe innocent ? 
yes, from the commission of actual sin ; but not from the pollution 
of a nature altogether sinful: for "who can bring a clean thing 
out of an unclean?" "Death passed upon all men, for that all 
have sinned." 2 Why then is death so often commissioned to snatch 
away the babe in the first hour of its existence? — why, but because 
that babe is a sinful creature ? Sin, that root of bitterness, has 
already shot its fibres into the inmost soul. That infant " born of 
the flesh, is flesh ;" 3 and " as such cannot please God" 4 — cannot 
bring forth any other than the accursed fruits of the flesh. As 
surely as the cockatrice's egg will hatch into a viper, so surely will 
the babe born of unclean parents, be itself unclean — so surely it will 
be " by nature a child of wrath, even as others." 5 And therefore 
it is as the apostle tells us, that " Death reigneth over all, even over 
ihem that have not sinned after the similitude of Adani's trans- 
gression"* I entertain not a doubt that these little ones are re- 
deemed by the blood of Jesus : but that they need redemption, that 
they are sinners, "children of wrath by nature," — of this truth I 
am equally w T ell assured ; and every little mound in the church- 
yard seems to have a voice that tells me so.' 7 

Then after citing our Church's recognition of this doctrine in the 
Ordinance of Infant Baptism, she returns to her scriptural ground 
of argument. 

' The Holy Ghost has instructed the Apostle to give us such a 
full comment upon the spiritual death we all die in Adam, that we 
cannot too often read and pray over the following passages : Rom. 
v. 12, 21 ; 1 Cor. xv. 21, 22, 45, 49 ; Eph. iv. 22, 24 . Col. iii. 9, 10. 
There are many others, in which our nature in Adam is spoken of, 
in contradistinction to the new and holy nature we receive in Christ 
Jesus. So essential is a right understanding of this truth, that 
until w T e receive it, many of the most beautiful parts of the Church 
service must appear just as unintelligible to us as it they were writ- 
ten in an unknown language. Nay — worse than unintelligible — 
they must seem extremely foolish and ridiculous. How absurd (to an 
understanding not convinced of the original defilement of our na- 
ture) must it appear to talk of remitting an infant's sins ; of causing 
the Old Adam to be buried, and his carnal affections to die in 
him ; 8 while all the time the hearer thinks that the infant as yet 
has no sin, no carnal affections, — while the very existence of the 
Old Adam or original sin is doubted by him !' 9 

The sacred records of Christian experience furnish full confirma- 
tion of her humiliating statement. 

' Oh ! what an unmeaning heap of words.' — she exclaims — 'has 



1 Job xiv. 4. 2 R om . v . 12, 3 John iii. 6. 

4 Rom. viii. 8. s E pn . a 3. 6 R om . v . 14. 

' Page 308. 8 gee the Baptismal Service. *> Page 14. 

4 



50 MEMOIR OF MARY JANE GRAHAM. 

been handed down to us in the law of Moses, the Psalms of David, 
the confessions of Ezra, Nehemiah, Job, Daniel, Jeremiah, and the 
rest of God's saints, if that evil nature which caused them to groan 
did not really exist ! Above all — what shall we make of Romans 
iii. and vii. ? What shall we understand by the conflict between 
the flesh and the Spirit, 1 between the old man and the new man, 
between the carnal and spiritual affections ? Was St. Paul dream- 
ing, when he said — " I know that in me, that is, in my flesh, dwell- 
eth no good thing?" 2 Was he beside himself, when he declared 
" that he found in himself a law, that when he would do good, evil 
was present with him ?" 3 that, though by Divine grace he had 
learnt " to delight in the law of God after the inward man, yet still 
he saw another law in his members, warring against the law of his 
mind, and bringing him into captivity to the law of sin which was 
in his members ?" 4 The Apostle of the Gentiles, " who labored 
more abundantly than they all :"' 5 he, who " had been caught up to 
the third heaven, and heard unspeakable words which it was not 
lawful for him to utter" 6 amongst sinful men ; he, who " counted all 
things but dung, that he might win Christ;" 7 he, who was "ready, 
not only to be bound, but also to die for the name of the Lord 
Jesus ;" 8 this chosen vessel of mercy, full of zeal and full of love, 
and under the immediate inspiration of the Holy Ghost, so 
groaned under the burden of the original corruption of his na- 
ture — u the law of sin warring in his members ;" that he was com- 
pelled to cry out — ' ; O wretched man that I am, who shall deliver 
me from the body of this death ?" 9 And from the time of Paul 
there has never been a real Christian, who has not often felt him- 
self constrained to adopt, this language, and to say in the anguish 
of his soul — " who shall deliver me from the body of this death ?" 
The remedy, as is usual in Scripture, follows close upon the com- 
plaint: "I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord." no 

From her Mathematical Manuscript, we extract the following 
method of proof of the total depravity of man. In speaking of the 
three modes of demonstration — Inference, Coincidence, and Reduc- 
tio ad absurdum 11 — she thus applies the last mode to the subject 
alluded to — ' If man be not utterly depraved, he must be in one 
of these two states — either perfectly good, without any mixture of 
sin ; or good, with some admixture of evil and imperfection. The 
first of these suppositions carries its own absurdity upon the face of 
it. The second is plausible, and more generally received. Yet it 
is not difficult to prove, that if man had any remaining good in 
him, that is, — towards God — he could not possibly be the creature 
that he now is. There could not be that carelessness about his 
eternal welfare, that deadness to spiritual things, which we per- 

i Gal. v. 17. 2 Rom. vii. 18. 3 ib. v . 21. 

< Rom. v. 22, 23. 5 i Cor. xv. 10. 6 2 Cor. xii. 2, 4. 

7 Phil. iii. 8. 8 Acts xxi. 13. 9 Rom. vii. 24. 

10 Rom. vii. 25. Page 14. 

11 i. e. The contrary hypothesis necessarily involving an absurdity. 



MEMOIR OF MARY JANE GRAHAM. 51 

ceive in every individual, whose heart has not been renewed by 
Divine grace. Man would not love pleasure more than God. He 
would not prefer " the things which are seen and which are tem- 
poral" to " the things that are not seen and are eternal." He would 
not trifle with sin. He would not sneer at holiness. He would not 
habitually neglect to pray. 

'All these things are utterly incompatible with the hypothesis, 
that man is only partially fallen from God. The very least spark 
of innate godliness would imply a restless dissatisfaction in what is 
evil ; an importunate longing to be freed from it. The man in 
whom such a spark of goodness existed, would breathe after lost 
communion with his Maker. He would prefer God's will and 
pleasure to his own. " The honor that cometh from God only" 
would be dearer to him than the most splendid tribute of human 
applause. Is anything like this to be found in man before his re- 
ception of Divine grace? No — He "lives without God in the 
world:" chooses his own will and pleasure, and seeks his own 
glory. He is utterly selfish ; therefore he is utterly fallen. 

1 We find then that the doctrine of man's partial depravity in- 
volves absurd consequences. It leads to conclusions which are 
wholly at variance with fact. These reflections bring us back to 
the Scripture statement. We admit that the heart of man may 
yet be the seat of many noble and tender affections towards his 
fellow-men. But in regard to God, we declare his affections to be 
alienated, his understanding darkened, his will depraved. "There 
is none that understandeth ; there is none that seeketh after God. 
They are all gone aside ; they are altogether become filthy ; there 
is none that doeth good, no, not one." n 

The litter helplessness of man she adduces with great clearness 
and power, to prove that the work of grace, from its earliest com- 
mencement to its final consummation, is " all of God." 

! Grace will be given' — she observes — ' to all who diligently seek 
for it. But, if we attend to the Scripture account of every man, 
woman, and child by nature, we shall find that this seeking also is 
the effect following upon grace received ; not the cause producing 
it. By this I mean to say, that the very act of seeking grace 
proves that we have received grace already ; and that the very 
ability to seek, is itself the free gift of God's sovereign grace. If 
J' every thought of man's heart is evil, and that continually" 2 surely 
it is not out of that heart that the first desire of any good thing can 
spring. If, by nature, " there is none that seeketh after God" 3 
whence can the first attempt to seek him arise, but from free grace 
drawing us contrary to nature ? Freely must grace be given to 
enable us to seek at first ; and freely must it be continued, to enable 
us to go on seeking. I know that none shall seek the Lord in 
vain ; none who come shall be cast out ; none who believe shall 
come short of everlasting life ; none who choose the better part 

1 Psalm xiv. 2, 3. Rom. iii. 10—12. 2 Gen. vi. 5. 3 Rom. iii. 11. 



52 MEMOIR OF MARY JANE GRAHAM. 

shall have it taken from them ; 1 but then none can seek the Lord, un- 
less he first seek them? None can come, except it be given them 
of the Father ; — none can believe, save as many as are ordained 
to eternal life ; None can choose Christ, except he first choose them.' 6 
If, again, we consider the magnitude of the change, which must 
take place in every sinner's heart befo/e he can truly and earnestly 
seek God, we shall be convinced that no part of it is properly his 
own. He must u be born again ;" 4 must become a new creature ; 
old things must pass away, all things must become new ;" s he must 
"pass from death unto life;" 6 "from darkness to light — from the 
power of Satan unto God" 7 — " from going about to establish his own 
righteousness, to submit himself to the righteousness of God ;" 8 and 
this, to a proud carnal heart, is the most difficult of all. And who 
is sufficient for these things? Who but He that first formed us in 
the womb, can cause us to be born again of the Spirit? Who but 
He that originally created us, is able to "create us anew in Christ 
Jesus?" Who but the giver of natural life can give spiritual life; 
11 and quicken tjiose that were dead in trespasses and sins ?" 9 

When the Lord of life stood by the grave of Lazarus and said — 
"Lazarus come forth; and he that was dead, instantly came 
forth;" 10 who would say, that this act of lifting himself up was the 
cause of his coming to life: and not rather, that his coming to life 
was the cause of his being able to lift himself up ? It is thus, when 
Jesus by his word and Spirit says to the heart of a sinner — " Awake, 
thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give 
thee light." 11 Instantly that dead soul arises, and its first act is 
seeking, or prayer ; but this same act of seeking is the effect of 
spiritual life, not the cause. We pray because we are alive, not 
that xoe may Hue. We cannot quicken ourselves when dead in 
sin, any more than we can bring a dead body to life. But when 
Jesus has quickened us, we shall as surely perform all those ac- 
tions, which demonstrate the soul to be spiritually alive, as a dead 
body when raised by Divine power, will surely perform all the func- 
tions of a living person. Grace, great grace, must be infused, to 
enable us to seek at all ; and He who first gave grace to seek, will 
give more grace in -answer to that seeking, thus fulfilling that pre- 
cious scripture which saith— " To him that hath, shall be given." 12 
We neither begin nor carry on the work of grace in our own 
hearts. " Jesus is the author and finisher" the Alpha and Omega, 
"of our faith." 13 From the first spark of grace that faintly glim- 
mers upon us here, to the full blaze of glory which shall burst upon 
us in heaven; all, all is his doing; it is he that made us alive 
(spiritually,) not we ourselves. It is God who both begins the 

i Isaiah xlv. 19. John vi. 37, 40. Luke x. 42. 

2 John x. 16. Ezek. xxxiv. 14. Luke xix. 10. Psalm cxix. 176. Eph. ii. 13. 

3 John vi. 65 ; xv. 16. Acts xiii. 43. 4 John hi. 3. 5 2 Cor. v. 17. 
e 1 John iii. 14. 7 Acts xxvi. 18. 1 Peter ii. 9. 

8 Rom. x. 3. 9 Ephesiansii. 1. 10 John xi. 43, 44. " Ephesians v. 14. 

* Matt. xiii. 12. « Heb. xii. 2. 



MEMOIR OF MARY JANE GRAHAM. 53 

good work in us, and also will " perform it unto the day of Jesus 
Christ." n 

Then, after having confirmed her statement by the strong and 
unequivocal language of the Church, she proceeds to exhibit in con- 
nection with it, the perfect freeness of Divine grace. 

1 It is absolutely necessary to a clear and full view of this doc- 
trine, that we ascribe to the free, sovereign, and unmerited grace 
of God, the first desire after him that ever arose in our hearts, as 
well as the fulfilling of that desire, when expressed in prayer. We 
must be convinced that nothing in the work of salvation is our own, 
but only the gift of God's love to us in Christ Jesus. Christ died 
for us when we were enemies. 2 The benefits of his death are ap- 
plied to us, for the purpose of reconciling us, not in consequence of 
our making any advances towards being reconciled. He "died for 
the ungodly" for those who were " ivithout strength," 3 without 
strength to come to Him ; without strength to form so much as a 
wish to come to Him. The desire to come is given for His sake : 
the ability to come is given for His sake • the acceptance on com- 
ing is an acceptance for the beloved sake of this beloved Saviour, 
u without whom we can do nothing." 4 Those who say — ' Grace 
will be given if we ask ; but then asking must precede or procure 
the given grace' — are in effect robbing God of much of the glory 
due unto his name. For the power and the inclination to ask are 
of themselves a part of the free gift of God's grace to us in Christ 
Jesus. They are the beginning of God's work in the heart ; and 
to say, that we begin this work, is no other than to say that w T e 
can create ourselves anew in Christ Jesus. I will venture to affirm, 
that if God waited to give us his grace till we asked him for it of 
our own accord, we should go without it to all eternity. 

' The great source of error on this head, even amongst serious 
people, is, that they cannot bring themselves to think they have 
nothing of their own in the work of salvation. Therefore it is, 
that, when constrained to acknowledge that the grace given them 
when they seek, is from God only ; their self-righteousness betakes 

1 Phil. i. 6. Freeness of Grace, pp. 48 — 51. While however she lays down the fun- 
damental principle, that in the work of salvation "all is of God," she insists upon the 
necessity of rational means in connection with Divine agency. ' The Spirit alone,' she 
observes in her manuscript — ' can " convince of sin, and of righteousness, and of judg- 
ment." (John xvi. 8.) But then he does so by means of our understandings — not in 
despite of them. He who first made us reasonable beings, acts upon us in a way suited 
to our reason. He gives us no new faculties, but enables us for the right use of those 
which we already have : There cannot be a greater mistake than the separation which 
some make between the operation of the Spirit, and the process of rational conviction. 
They are related to each other as the cause to the effect. The Spirit of God alone " guides 
into all truth," (John xvi. 13,) yet not by urging us on blindfold with headlong impulse. 
He opens our eyes, and pours in the light from above. The eyes which he opens are 
"theeyes of our understanding." (Eph. i. 18.) The light which he sheds forth is the 
steady light of rational and sober conviction. It is not the cold moonshine of formality, 
which only plays round the head. It is not the false glare of enthusiasm, which only 
dazzles the imagination. His is that piercing beam, which, while it illuminates and con- 
vinces the understanding, purifies and converts the heart.' 

2 Rom. v. 10. s ibid. 6. 4 John xv. 5. 



54 MEMOIR OF MARY JANE GRAHAM. 

itself to another stronghold ; and we find them laying claim to their 
asking and seeking, as if that at least was the effort of their own 
will, the spontaneous act of their own power. This is just as if 
one should take a dead person by the hand, breathe life into him, 
and lift him up upon his feet ; and that person should make a show 
of acknowledgment to his benefactor, by allowing to that benefac- 
tor the praise of lifting him up after he was alive, and keeping him 
alive ever since, and yet should maintain, that the first breath of 
all came into him by his own spontaneous act, by the effort of his 
own assisted power. The absurdity of such an assertion with re- 
gard to temporal life, would strike us at once ; but we are not so 
struck with it in reference to spiritual life ; and the reason is this : 
when we speak of a corpse, we know what we speak about ; there 
it lies before our eyes, incapable of breathing, moving, speaking. 
We perfectly know what we mean, when we say that a dead body 
cannot raise itself to life. But when we speak of a soul "dead in 
trespasses and sins," we too often use the phrase, merely because 
we find it in the Scriptures : without the slightest conception of the 
awful reality expressed by it. Nor is it till we have ourselves in 
some measure " passed from death unto life," that we begin to per- 
ceive the dreadful and close analogy, which really exists between 
the two states of natural and spiritual death. If God were to come 
to an unconverted person with the question — not — "Can these dry 
bones" — but Can these dead souls — "live?" he would be apt to 
reply — Why not? What should hinder them from raising them- 
selves up, and breathing the breath of spiritual life? But when 
God has quickened us from our own death in trespasses and sins, 
our eyes are open to see what spiritual death really is, and then we 
learn with trembling awe to reply, ' " Lord, thou knowest :" 1 this is 
thy work : it is thou that must make us to live, and not we our- 
selves.' 

1 Since, then, men are universally disposed to "go about establish- 
ing their own righteousness," how carefully ought we to close up 
every avenue, through which this besetting sin might gain admit- 
tance, and rob us of our peace, by leading us to rob Christ of his 
praise ! Many are the windings of our own treacherous hearts ; 
many are the devices of Satan, by which he would tempt, us to as- 
cribe to our own strength, what God hath done for us of his mere 
mercy. Nor let us think that a mistake here can be of trifling im- 
portance. God is very jealous for his great name ; and he has de- 
clared, that " if we will not lay it to heart, to give glory to his name, 
he will send a curse upon us, and will even curse our blessings." 2 
Many and glorious are the crowns which adorn the sacred head of 
Immanuel. Let us not try to pluck thence the brightest and fairest 
of them all : for well does it become this King of kings. When we 
reach heaven, and receive the crown of glory, we shall be ready 
enough to cast that at his feet, and to say, Thou only art worthy. 

1 Ezek. xxxvii. 3. 2 Mai. ii. 2. 



MEMOIR OF MARY JANE GRAHAM. 55 

Let us do the same with the crown of grace here ; for surely we 
have as little right to arrogate the one to ourselves as the other.' 1 

These Scriptural statements of man's total corruption are well 
connected with the calls of the Gospel — not as implying man's 
natural free-will and power to turn to God; but as displaying the 
riches of Divine grace, as stamping the mark of guilt upon the 
moral inability of the sinner, and setting forth the means, by which 
the Lord accomplishes the purposes of his everlasting love. In the 
valley of dry bones, to which Miss Graham has just alluded, the 
prophet was commanded to "call the things that be not, as though 
they were." The Almighty power of God gave effect to the feeble 
voice of his servant. 2 He fails not to manifest the same almighty 
power in the resurrection of souls under the ministration of his 
Gospel ; while the sovereignty of his grace is not less apparent in 
"quickening whom he will." 3 

Perhaps, however, Miss Graham may be considered somewhat 
defective in an exhibition of the free invitations of the Gospel. 
Many exclusive writers 4 deem it unnecessary to address the lan- 
guage of pleading love and urgent remonstrance, where the want 
of inclination opposes a moral barrier to its success. But this is to 
obscure the riches of the grace of God by the narrow and perverted 
reasoning of man. Our Lord's personal ministry was in no way 
restrained by his perfect knowledge of the eternal purpose or of hu- 
man inability. Though the objects of electing love were individu- 
ally known to him, yet his gracious offers were as general, as if no 
counsel had been fixed in the eternal mind, or as if he were unac- 
quainted with its restricted object and end. Though he most de- 
cisively declared man's total inability to come to him irrespective 
of the sovereign application of Almighty power ; 5 yet, "his bands of 
love" were "the cords of a man" — suited to "draw" him as a ra- 
tional and responsible creature. 6 The freeness of Divine mercy — 
not the secret decree of the Divine will — was the ground and rule 
of his patient procedure. He spoke the glad tidings to the unbe- 
lieving Jews, u that they might be saved." 7 He complains of them 
most tenderly, that " they would not come to him, that they might 
have life. 8 He connected his declaration of the purpose of God 
with a full and faithful invitation to sinners. 9 He offered himself 
indefinitely to large and mixed assemblies as the provision for the 
salvation of the whole world. 10 He extended the commission of his 
Gospel " to every creature" n and closed the special revelation of the 

1 Freeness of Grace, pp. 53—57. 2 Ezek. xxxvii. 2—10. 

3 John v. 21,25, with Ephes. i. 19, 20. 

4 Miss Graham, however, must not be confounded with writers of this class. If there 
was an omission in her statements, there was no defect in her system. Her private cor- 
respondence abounds with the most fervid appeals to the unconverted, and the most un- 
restricted offers of the Gospel. See the letters in Chapter v. adduced as illustrative of her 
' compassionate concern for the unconverted. 1 

5 See John vi. 44, 65. 6 Hosea xi. 4. 7 John v. 34. 
8 John v. 40. Compare Matt, xxiii. 37. 9 Ibid. vi. 37. 

10 Ibid. vi. 50, 51 ; vii. 37. Compare Isaiah lv. 1, 2. Matt. xi. 28. » Mark xvi. 15. 



56 MEMOIR OF MARY JANE GRAHAM. 

future history of the church, with the same widely-extended em- 
brace of inestimable mercy. 1 Where, then, is the sinner that is ex- 
cluded from the responsibility of believing the testimony? Or where 
is he that is shut out from the encouragement of its free and large 
invitations ? 

Turning from Miss Graham's writings to her correspondence, we 
find her views of the Gospel to be equally clear and encouraging. 

The following letter gives a distinct view of the ground of our 
acceptance with God : — 

1 February 15, 1828. 

' Dearest . Join with me in admiring the mercy of our 

God. " For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled unto 
God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall 
be saved by his life." 2 " If we confess our sins, God is" — not mer- 
ciful and compassionate, — but "faithful and just to forgive us our 
sins." 3 For since "Christ once suffered, the just for the unjust" — 
since He " bare our sins in his own body on the tree' H — if we be- 
lieve on him, and lay hold on his salvation, justice itself cannot but 
acquit us. It cannot be, that Jesus should lay down His life, and 
that then God should require ours. It cannot be, that, when Jesus 
has paid the dreadful debt to the very uttermost farthing, we should 
be called upon to pay it once again. No. As God is a faithful 
God, He must fulfil the promises He has made, that not one of all 
those who come to Him through Jesus, shall ever perish. As He is 
a just God, He will not punish us and our Surety too — will not de- 
mand a twice-told reckoning. If, indeed, the atonement of Jesus 
were not perfect ; if He had not suffered all, not paid all, we might 
tremble. But Almighty Justice declared itself satisfied, when our 
Surety was released from the prison of the tomb, when he sat down 
on the right hand of God, and took possession in our name of the 
inheritance He had purchased for us ; and therefore it is said, that 
He " was delivered for our offences, and was raised again for our 
justification." 5 By his death, He laid down the price of our salva- 
tion ; by His rising again, He declared that the price was accepted 
— the salvation complete. And this seems to me the great display 
of God's wisdom in the cross of Christ, that the Just should be able 
to justify the ungodly without deviating one tittle from His justice 
— " that He should be just, and (yet) the Jusiifier of him which be- 
lieveth in Jesus." 6 But we find these two things inseparably united 

i Rev. xxii. 16, 17. 2 Rom. v. 10. 3 1 John i. 9. 

4 1 Peter Hi. 18; H. 24. 5 R om . iv. 25. 

6 Ibid. Hi. 26. We extract an illustration of the subject from her Manuscript, equally- 
beautiful and just. In denning the principle of analysis to be — taking to pieces a train of 
argument, and examining the soundness of its component parts, she gives the following 
Scriptural example. — ' " Christ crucified, the wisdom of God, and the power of God." 
(1 Cor. i. 23, 24.) What an overwhelming multitude of reflections crowd upon the se- 
rious mind at the bare mention of these words ! But in proving the doctrine to unbe- 
lievers, how many concurrent circumstances must be separately and distinctly unfolded ! 
It is alleged to be incompatible both with " the wisdom and power of God," that he should 
be constrained to glorify one of his attributes at the expense of another. We must there- 



MEMOIR OF MARY JANE GRAHAM. 57 

in Scripture — holiness and salvation, as I saw it well expressed in 
some little work I was reading the other day : ' No salvation by 
works; and yet no salvation without works.' "Christ hath God 
exalted to be a Prince and a Saviour, to give repentance and remis- 
sion of sins." 1 If, then, we follow and obey him not as our Prince, 
He is as yet no Saviour to us. If He has not given us repentance, 
we must not suppose that He has given us remission. But dear 

, let us bear in mind, that both are gifts. Repentance is as 

much a gift, and as little a merit as pardon. I fear I have been 
very tedious ; but the subject has led me further than 1 intended. 
We are sinners seeking a common Saviour ; and, therefore, I trust 
that nothing we can say of him can be wearisome.' 

The practical view of this statement is more fully developed in 
one of her latent letters to the same correspondent : 

'September, 1830. 

'Far from thinking it presumption to write as you have done, 
my dear friend, I think we ought not to be ashamed of owning what 
God has done for our souls. We know that it is solely " by the 
grace of God" — His free, unmerited favor — that we "are what we 
are ;" and that in our lips, and above all, in our lives, we are bound 
to show, that "the grace of God was not bestowed upon us in 
vain." 2 

• Dear , it has indeed pleased God to " call us to His king- 
dom and glory :" let us (in His strength) " walk worthy of the high 
vocation wherewith we are called." " Let us exhort one another 
daily while it is called to-day ; let us provoke one another unto love 
and to good works ;" 3 and above all — let us pray for one another — 
and that fervently and unceasingly. We have need not only to 
pray, but to " watch unto prayer ;" 4 for it is only as long as we 
maintain this watchful spirit, that we can hope to enjoy any of the 
comforts of religion. Let me entreat you — not as one whose free- 
dom from these sins gives her a right to exhort others — but as one 
who has herself felt by mournful experience what " an evil and bitter 
thing it is" 5 to depart from the God of our salvation ; as a back- 
slider, whose backslidings have been healed by the inexpressible 
mercy of a long-suffering God — let me most earnestly and affec- 
tionately ntreat you to guard eagainst the least declension from 
holiness — the least relaxation in that close and humble walking 

fore consider each attribute apart from the rest, and show how each is glorified in the doc- 
trine of the cross. Each part of the argument must be unfolded. Each link of the 
wondrous chain must be distinctly separated. We may offer them successively to the 
unbeliever, and challenge the strictest scrutiny to detect a single break. If only one link 
be imperfect, the whole chain must give away. All the hopes which hang upon it must 
perish. But the more closely we examine it, the more complete will be our satisfaction. 
I have adduced this doctrine in illustration of my meaning, because I know of none which 
involves a greater number of considerations. In Maclaurin's Sermon on the Glory of 
the Cross, we have a most perfect specimen of this kind of analysis." 

i Acts v. 31. 2 1 Cor. xv. 10. 3 Eph. iv. 1. " 

* 1 Peter iv. 7. 5 Jeremiah ii. 19. 



58 MEMOIR OF MARY JANE GRAHAM. 

with God, which alone can keep you peaceful and happy. Works 
cannot justify us before God ; but we are said to be justified by 
works in one part of Scripture 1 — that is, they are the only evidence 
of our justification that we can offer to our fellow-creatures. " Ye 
shall know them by their fruits." 2 And what are " the fruits of the 
Spirit?" Forgive me, if I record them here — the description is so 
lovely, that we cannot remind one another of it too often — " The 
fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness, good- 
ness, faith, meekness, temperance ; against such there is no law. 
And they that are Christ's have crucified the flesh with the affec- 
tions and lusts." 3 Let us examine ourselves by this, dearest . 

Let us see whether we bring forth this fruit, and whether we 
"bring forth much fruit— so shall we be His disciples." 4 My 
course is perhaps almost ended. I have reason to hope that it will 
not be very long ere I enter into that rest, which Jesus has pur- 
chased for me with his blood. Oh, that I had walked more to his 
glory, " who loved me, and gave Himself for -me !" But your course 
(as a Christian) is but lately begun, and may, if the Lord please, 
be continued for many years. Oh, then, let it be indeed " the path 
of the just, which is as the shining light, that shining more and 
more unto the perfect day." 5 " Be thou an example of the believers, 
in word, in conversation, in charity, in faith, in purity. Love not 
the world, neither the things that are in the world. Be clothed 
with humility ;" 6 for as you are of an humbled and "contrite spirit, 
and tremble at God's word," so will " the High and Lofty One who 
inhabiteth eternity," delight to dwell in your heart, to bless you with 

his refreshing and sanctifying presence. 7 And now, dearest , 

" may the very God of peace sanctify you wholly ; and I pray God, 
your whole body, and soul and spirit, be preserved blameless unto 
the coming of Jesus Christ." 8 To Him may we with one heart and 
voice, give glory both now and for evermore ! Amen/ 

The following letter, however, carefully separates the fruit of 
faith from every ground of dependence. The application of the 
subject for Christian consolation will be interesting. 

' Stoke, Feb. 21, 1827. 
' The chapter you mention (Matthew xxv.) is particularly delight- 
ful, as holding out a lovely picture of the people of Christ. But let 
us mark, that it is not the action, but the motive, which meets with 
such high commendation. It is not said — Ye fed the hungry, gave 
drink to the thirsty, &c, but " I was hungry, and ye gave me meat j 
I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink ; inasmuch as ye did it to one of 
the least of these, ye did it unto meP And this appears to be the 
grand difference between Christians and worldly people. The Chris- 

i James ii. 21, 22, 24. 2 Matthew vii. 16. 3 Galatians v. 22—24. 

4 John xv. 8. 5 Proverbs iv. 18. 

e 1 Tim. iv. 12. 1 John ii. 15. 1 Peter v. 5. ~> Isaiah Ixvi. 2 ; lvii. 15. 

8 1 Thes. v. 23. 



MEMOIR OF MARY JANE GRAHAM. 59 

tian does everything as unto Christ — in His name, in His strength, 
and to His glory. The worldling may, and often does, out of natural 
benevolence or ostentation, feed the hungry, or clothe the naked ; but 
he does it not unto Jesus, but to please himself, to gratify natural feel- 
ing, to appear well in the sight of others, to gain a stock of merit 
enough to buy heaven, or at least to help out what may be want- 
ing in the merit of Christ. These are his best motives : Talk to 
him of doing good works ; because you are saved, and not that 
you may be saved ; and you are talking of a thing which never 
entered his narrow heart, and which will not enter it, till it is en- 
larged by the grace of Christ. But let us beg of God to give us 
this motive, and right actions will naturally follow. It will, as 
some one expresses it, ' like the spring of a watch, soon set all the 
wheels of our souls a-going.' I cannot leave this chapter without 
sharing with you the comfort I have derived from it in another 
point of view. Does Jesus say — "I was hungry, and ye gave me 
meat," &c. ? Is He then hungry, when we are hungry ? Does 
He faint, when we are thirsty, and languish when we are "sick and 
in prison ?" And think you, He will not much more sympathize 
with our spiritual necessities? When we hunger for the bread of 
life, and thirst for living water ; when we are sensible that our 
guilty souls stand " naked" before hirn ; when we feel ourselves 
" sick" of that worst disease, sin ; and in bondage to Satan, that 
most hard master — will not He then sympathize with us? And 
His pity will not be a vain and empty pity. He will not only sym- 
pathize, but relieve. He will feed, and nourish, and clothe, and 
heal and deliver us. Nor will he be content with this. But the 
same pity He feels for us, He will teach us to feel for others ; so that 
we shall be such characters as He describes the " blessed of the Fa- 
ther" to be. Only let us trust Him for ah this, and continually 
importune him for it; for his promises are all addressed to those 
who trust, and ask, and seek, and knock.' 

The freeness and fulness of the Gospel are delightfully applied, to 
counteract the subtle influence of self-righteousness. 

1 September 28, 1825. 

' You tell me, my beloved friend, that you have lately suffered 
wordly thoughts to engross too much of your time, and that you 
have found little comfort in prayer. Will you let me tell you what 
seems to me to be the cause of this ; at least as far as I can judge 
of my own experience? 

'You need a more simple and entire dependence on what Christ 
has done for you, and will do in you ; you want to be doing some- 
thing yourself, when He has done all ; you would repent and pray 
earnestly, and then you think Christ would forgive you. I do not 
know whether I am right with regard to your feelings ; but this at 

least has sometimes been my own case ; but in fact, my dear , 

it was for sinners, who cannot repent, who cannot pray, that the 
Saviour came to die. Repentance is His gift — His free gift — as 



60 MEMOIR OF MARY JANE GRAHAM. 

well as pardon ; and it is only when we are willing to come to 
Him — poor, empty, and miserable as we are — that He delights in 
"filling us with good things." 1 think I have not clearly explained 
myself; but I will try to give you an instance of what I mean. 

1 1 used to be often doubting whether I was one of Christ's people 
or not. Now this one text satisfied all my doubts, — " All that the 
Father giveth me shall come to me ; and him that cometh to me I 
will in no wise cast out." 1 From this it seems there is but one 
question — Am I willing to come to Christ? If so, then am I one 
of those whom " the Father hath given Him ;" if so, then will He 
never, never cast me out ; and if so, then is God the Father, then is 
God the Son, engaged by an immutable promise, by unchangeable 
faithfulness, to bring me — a feeble worm of the earth — a sinner by 
nature and practice — yes, even to bring me safe home to glory. 
Am I willing? Oh my dear friend, I doubt not your heart is 
answering to mine : Yes, Lord, thou knowest that I am willing to 
come unto thee. " To whom should I go?" for there is " none in 
heaven or in earth, that I desire beside thee !" Again, with regard 
to the love of the world, — that great enemy to the Christian life, — 
I used to think, how shall I overcome it? Now, I look simply to 
Jesus, who has said — " Be of good cheer ; I have overcome the 
world." 2 He has overcome it for us, and will overcome it in us. 
For how can we love that world, which crucified our Lord and 
Saviour? How can we give way to that "love of the world," 
which will deprive us of " the love of the Father ?" 3 Believe me, 

my dear , there is not a sin, however deeply rooted in the heart, 

from which we may not be delivered by simply looking to Jesus, 
and pleading with him his precious promises. To this end, " let 
the word of Christ dwell richly in us with all wisdom ;" let us " hide 
his word in our hearts," and we shall find it will preserve us from 
"sinning against him." 4 "The love of the world," accompanied 
as it always must be by lukewarmness in heavenly things, is indeed 
a great sin, and will, as far as we indulge in it. be as a cloud between 
us and the Father ; for, " know ye not that the friendship of the 
world is enmity with God ?" 5 But then we need not be discouraged ; 
for though we never can overcome it in our own strength, we have 
a promise that the "strength of the Lord Jesus shall be made per- 
fect in our weakness." 6 " Of his fulness have all we received, and 
grace for grace." 7 Dost thou want grace every moment to keep 
thee from falling? — "My grace is sufficient foi thee." Wouldst 
thou have wisdom ? " Christ is made unto us wisdom." " God 
giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not." 8 Wouldst thou 
have peace ? There is " peace and joy for thee in believing." 9 
Thy Saviour is " the Prince of Peace." 10 Wouldst thou be preserved 
unto the end? " The Lord is faithful, who shall stablish you, and 

i John vi. 37. 2 Ibid. xvi. 33. 3 1 j onn ii. 15. 

4 Col. iii. 16. Psalm cxix. 11. 5 James iv. 4. 6 2 Cor. xu. 9. 

i John i. 16. 8 i Cor. i. 30. James i. 5. » Rxlv. 3. m o. 

i° Isa. ix. 6. 



MEMOIR OF MARY JANE GRAHAM. 61 

keep you from evil." 1 Finally, do we seek for direction in every 
step of our path through life ? Let us feed on those precious prom- 
ises in Isaiah xxx. 21. and xlviii. 17. Thus, my dear friend, we 
may go on " with joy, drawing water out of the wells of salvation ;'" 2 
and we are then constrained to cry out with Jeremiah — " Thy 
words were found, and I did eat them ; and thy word was unto me 
the joy and rejoicing of mine heart." 3 I fear that I have already 
taken too much time upon this; but it has pleased God, in my 
afflictions, to make Christ, and the word of Christ, so unspeakably 
precious to me, that my heart will not rest, till I have called on my 
dear friend to live in consistency with her privileges as a child of 
God, and to " rejoice in the Lord always." 4 

And again, 

1 September 17, 1827. 

{ I have read your letter again and again with deepest interest. I 
grieved to find, that you do not gain any sensible comfort in the 
path of religion. You seem to think yourself going backward, 
rather than forward. But may not this be, because you see daily 
more of the vanity and wickedness of your own heart, and of the 
wretchedness of your very best performances? If so, are you not 
making progress? And while perhaps in reality you are less con- 
formed to the world, less bent upon earthly things than you were 
a few months ago ; your more enlightened views of the spiritual 
nature of God's law, and the holy strictness of its requirements, 
may make you see more worldliness and sin in everything you do, 
than you were capable of perceiving, when you first began the 
study of your own heart. For, believe me — the further we " come 
up from this wilderness, leaning upon our beloved," 5 the more clearly 
we shall see, that not one step can be taken in our own strength ; 
and every time we begin to think we are a little stronger, and may 
venture to stir a few steps alone, we shall be left to stumble and 
fall, until he again upholds us with his hand. We want to be 
something in ourselves, to have something that we can call our 
own, something to look at, and to rest upon as such : when, alas ! 
we are nothing, have nothing, but what comes to us from the ful- 
ness of Jesus. As long as we look into our own hearts for any 
source of comfort, we must inevitably be disappointed. If we look 
at " our righteousnesses, they are but as filthy rags ;" 6 " the covering 
is narrower than that a man can wrap himself in it." 7 But if we 
cast these filthy rags from us, and look to the righteousness of Jesus, 
then we have a spotless robe — an ample covering for our naked and 
defiled souls. I cannot help thinking, my beloved friend, that your 
sadness proceeds from thinking too much of yourself, and too little 
of Jesus. You brood upon your own sin and misery, till you forget 
" The Lord your righteousness." You are deeply sensible of your 

1 2 Thcss. iii. 3. 2 i sa iah xii. 3. 3 j er . xv. 16. * Philip, iv. 4. 

5 Canticles viii. 5. 6 Isaiah Ixiv. 6. ? Ibid, xxviii. 20. 



62 MEMOIR OF MARY JANE GRAHAM. 

own weakness, but dwell too little on the sweet assurance, that 
you " can do all things through Christ which strengthened you. 1 '' 1 
You lament your own folly ; but is not Jesus made wisdom to you ? 
— your own insufficiency ; but "in Jesus dwells" there not "all the 
fulness of the Godhead bodily?" and may not you be "complete 
in him ?" 2 Yet let us not cease to look at ourselves to make us 
humble ; but let us look at Jesus to make us happy ; and when 
we look at him, let us remember, that he is our Jesus, our Saviour, 
and that he will make us more happy. Let me give you a text, 
which I have sometimes found to be a sovereign remedy against all 
those fears, which a view of our own sinfulness is apt to excite : 
" The name of the Lord is a strong tower ; the righteous run- 
neth into it and is safe." 3 Here is comfort ; here is safety. My 
dear friend, I have as much sin and weakness and folly to lament, 
as you can possibly have ; and if it does not make me as miser- 
able as it does you, it is simply because, whenever I am frightened 
and tormented by the accusations of conscience, I " run into this 
strong tower, and am safe." You too are safe, for have you not 
taken refuge there? Why, then, will you not open your eyes, 
and behold how the " name of the Lord, as a strong tower," com- 
passes you on every side, so that you are quite out of the reach of 
every enemy? Jesus is our "hiding-place and our shield." 4 If 
we fear Satan, he will soon " bruise Satan under our feet." If we 
fear the world, Jesus "has overcome the world." If we fear the 
treachery of our own deceitful hearts, let us put those hearts into 
the hands of Jesus ; he shall turn them " as the river of water, 
whithersoever he will." Nor is he only thus strong to defend us, 
but rich to supply our need. If we want repentance, Jesus is ex- 
alted to give repentance. If we want faith, " it is given us on the 
behalf of Christ to believe." 5 If we want holiness, " Jesus is made 
of God sanctirlcation unto us." 6 If we want peace, " the peace of 
God shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus." 7 In 
short — let our sins, our fears, and wants be ever so great, they need 
not drive us to despair, as long as Jesus lives and " is able to save 
to the uttermost." We are complete in him. Well then might 
David say, " They that know thy name will put their trust in 
thee ;" 8 well might Solomon say — " Thy name is as ointment 
poured forth;" 9 and Isaiah — "His name shall be called Wonder- 
ful." 10 But, my dear friend, we have an interest in this precious 
name ; we may draw near to the Father of mercies in this name, 
and he will demy us nothing. 11 Then shall we give way to gloomy 
doubts and forebodings any more? Alas! I know how little all 
these reflections weigh with us, unless the Spirit of God bring them 
home with light and power to our hearts. Even while I am talk- 

1 Philippians iv. 13. 2 Col. ii. 9, 10. 3 Proverbs viii. 10. 

* Psalm cxix. 114. 5 Phil. i. 29. 6 i Cor. i. 30. 

i Phil. iv. 7. 8 Psalmix. 10. » Can. i. 3. 

» Isaiah ix. 6. " John xvi. 23, 24. 



MEMOIR OF MARY JANE GRAHAM. 63 

ing to you, my own heart is so little affected, that I am ashamed 
to go on ; but I speak rather as I would feel, than as 1 do feel.' 

The above statements of Divine truth will be generally admitted 
to be of a scriptural and decided character. Her exhibition of the 
humbling doctrines of the Gospel brings no occasion for despond- 
ency ; while it commends to the awakened sinner the simple glory 
of a free salvation. Nor does her view of gratuitous acceptance 
lose a particle of its evangelical clearness by the connected display 
of its fruitfulness. The man thoroughly humbled by the doctrines 
of the grace of God, will delight in holiness as the track of com- 
munion with his God, and the pathway to heaven ; while his 
sense of continued defilement will preserve him from self-righteous- 
ness, deepen his self-abasement, and establish his faith in the sim- 
plicity of Christ. 

Her connected apprehensions of what are called the higher doc- 
trines of the Gospel with the whole system, are well stated by the 
beloved brother, whose high privilege it was to attend her during 
her last illness. 

f She had received' — he observes — ' the Gospel as a dispensation 
of pure grace. She delighted to speak in a holy mariner of God's 
electing love. She " knew her election," 1 and rejoiced in a sense of 
her high privilege. The reception of this blessed doctrine produced 
in her soul deep humility, gratitude, and love. She well knew, 
that it was God "who had made her to differ" 2 from a " world that 
lieth in wickedness ;" and she could say from her heart, — " Not 
unto us, O Lord, not unto us, but unto thy name give glory, for 
thy mercy and for thy truth's sake." 3 She was so deeply con- 
vinced from the word of God, from all around her, and from her 
own heart, of the deep depravity of human nature, of the utter 
helplessness of man, to do, think, or say anything that is spiritually 
good, that she saw no other method, whereby a sinful creature 
could be saved, but from the combined offices of the Holy Trinity 
— from the election of the Father, the redemption of the Son, and 
the sanctincation of the Spirit.' 

A single extract from her publication will fully corroborate this 
testimony. The beauty of her language will justify the length of 
the quotation. 

1 Thus it is, that while the doctrine of predestination is death to 
those who weary themselves in presumptuous disputings and rea- 
sonings about it ; there always have been and will be a happy few, 
who, humbly and sincerely feeding upon it, receiving all that the 
Scripture tells them concerning it, and desiring to know no further, 
find it health and peace to their souls. It lays them very low at 
the feet of their Redeemer ; brings down the high swelling of their 
pride and self-esteem, pulls away from under them all those broken 
reeds upon which they had been used to lean, self-righteousness, 

1 Thess. i. 4. 2 i c r. iv. 7. 3 Psalm czv. 1. 



64 MEMOIR OF MARY JANE GRAHAM. 

self-will, self-dependence ; and leaves to them no one prop on which 
to lean for support, whilst " coming up out of this wilderness," but 
"the arm of their Beloved" — that everlasting arm which will surely 
conduct them to glory. When that arm becomes shortened that it 
cannot save, or weak that it cannot support ; when the arm of 
Jesus fails and is weary ; then they will begin to look around for 
some other stay ; but not till then. Or when they can discover in 
themselves one single good thing which Jesus did not put there ; 
one reason why he should visit them with such amazing love ; then 
they will conclude that his love took its rise from theirs: not theirs 
from His. But they never will discover one such thing ; so long as 
the Spirit of God illumines their heart, and brings to light its im- 
mense depravity and worthlessness. Therefore as God's love could 
not have been excited by anything in them, they believe it to be 
an eternal love : that they were called in time, because they were 
chosen from eternity ; and that the name of Jesus is now engraved 
as a seal upon their hearts, because their names were written on 
his heart before ever the world was. And when their thoughts 
stretch forward to the end of this pilgrimage, and they rejoice in the 
view of the mansions prepared for them in their Father's house, the 
crown of that rejoicing is this — " We got not the land in possession 
by our own strength, neither did our own arm save us ; but thy 
right hand, and thine arm, and the light of thy countenance, be- 
cause thou kadst a favor unto 7JS." 1 "Thus they rejoice in Christ 
Jesus, and have no confidence in the flesh ;" for " God is the glory 
of their strength ; and in his favor their horn is exalted.'' 2 

*I cannot pretend to meet the objections, or to refute the cavils 
commonly raised, when this doctrine of election is made the subject 
of discussion ; for I did not learn it in the way of carnal reasonings, 
but by simply taking the Scriptures as I found them, and as the 
Spirit of God enabled me to receive them. If St. Paul, after descant- 
ing on this subject, breaks off in an ecstasy of admiration, exclaim- 
ing — " How unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past 
finding out! 5,3 — we need not wonder if our shallow understandings 
are incapable of fathoming, our limited capacities of comprehend- 
ing, our low minds of reaching them. We must be satisfied with 
believing that it is even so, because so it seemed good in our 
Father's sight, 4 whatever it may appear in ours. This reason, 
which appeared satisfactory to our Saviour, may surely satisfy us ; 
or if not, he has vouchsafed an assurance, which may well serve to 
repress present inquiry into things too high for us — " What I do, 
thou knowest not now, but thou shalt know hereafter." 5 

' That these things are so, I believe, because I find them among 
the " revealed things which belong to us and our children forever.'' 
How or why they are so, I desire not too closely to inquire, lest I 
should intrude into the "secret things, which belong unto the Lord 

i Psalm xliv. 3. 2 Phil. iii. 3. Psalm Ixxxix. 17. 3 Rom. xi. 33. 

4 Matt. xi. 29. 5 John xiii. 7. 



MEMOIR OF MARY JANE GRAHAM. 65 

our God." 1 O that he would give unto every one of us that humble 
and teachable spirit, with which a little ignorant child is content to 
receive his father's lessons, without rudely commenting upon his 
father's ways, or rashly intruding into his father's secrets ! This 
one thing we know ; and with this we may be satisfied ; that " the 
Judge of all the earth cannot but do right." 2 But it were prepos- 
terous to expect that he should always do that which is right in 
our eyes, so long as our notions of right and wrong are so utterly 
confused and perverted as they have been ever since the fall. He 
himself tells us that " the Lord seeth not as man seeth :" and that 
"that which is highly esteemed among men is abomination in the 
sight of God." 3 It cannot be, so long as " his ways are equal, and 
ours unequal," 4 that his righteous dealings should be in exact ac- 
cordance with our unrighteous views and sentiments. Instead then 
of wearying ourselves with impotent attempts to bring down his 
will and counsel to the level of our ideas, our far wiser way will be 
to submit our thoughts and ideas to his will, assured that it is holy, 
just, and good.'* She then proceeds to defend the doctrine at some 
length, and with considerable ability, from the usual objections of 
charging God with injustice, and of encouraging licentiousness, 
arrogance, and despondency in man. 

The Writer is glad to find that this large extent of quotation, with 
which he has indulged himself, has in some means been effectual 
to introduce Miss Graham's work from the comparative obscurity 
of an anonymous publication, into that more general acceptance, 
which in his own, and, he presumes he may add, in his reader's 
judgment, it well deserves. It would be too much to anticipate a 
universal concurrence in all her statements. Yet from the peculiar 
unction 6 and richness of her theology, and its entire freedom from 
speculation and controversy, they cannot be read by the serious 
reader without spiritual profit. The more mysterious doctrines (as 
will be seen from the last quotation) are handled in a holy, practi- 
cal spirit, eminently calculated to soften prejudice, to prostrate the 
soul in humble thankfulness, and to enlarge the Christian's joy in 
God. It is indeed one of the many painful results from the harsh, 
crude, and abstract statements too often given of these doctrines; 
that they have contributed unjustly to discredit the more sober 
Scriptural declarations, which, when cast, like Miss Graham's, into 
the mould of our Seventeenth Article, are justly pronounced by our 
Church to be 'full of sweet, pleasant, and unspeakable comfort to 
godly persons.' 

On such deep and humbling subjects, the Writer would not pre- 
sume to set up his judgment as the rule of faith for the Church. 
Yet he has felt a caution necessary for his own mind, which he 
•ventures therefore to suggest to his brethren. Let us take care lest 

1 Deut. xxix. 29. 2 Gen. xviii. 25. 3 1 Sam. xvi. 7. Luke xvi. 15. 

< Ezek. xviii. 25. 5 p p . 45—47. 

6 The term is used according to Dr. Johnson's beautiful definition — l That which melts 
to devotion.' 

5 



66 MEMOIR OF MARY JANE GRAHAM. 

the irreconcilableness of these doctrines with our apprehensions of 
the Divine character, rather than a defect of their Scriptural evi- 
dence, should influence our rejection of them. Is there no danger, 
lest a predisposing bias in the search for this evidence, should ob- 
scure that singleness of eye, which is the only medium for the re- 
ception of* heavenly light? 1 The admission of these doctrines, in- 
deed, as the result of disputation or argument, could only issue in a 
fearful proportion of that " knowledge which puffeth up," combined 
with a total absence of the " love that edifieth." 2 But the child-like 
reception of them as revealed in the Holy Scriptures, will be, (as 
we have just hinted,) eminently fruitful in humiliation, love, privi- 
lege, and devoted ness. After all, however, we must remember — 
" A man can receive nothing, except it be given him from heaven." 3 
This sacred aphorism lays the whole substantial basis of the true 
faith of the Gospel; while the light reflected upon the steady course 
of Christian consistency, 4 though it will not clear up every difficulty, 
will enlarge our discovery of the Divine Goodness to man, and as- 
sure to our minds the unchangeableness of God, as the ground of 
that " strong consolation," which " the heirs of promise" are fully 
warranted to enjoy. 5 

II. ON SUBJECTS OF THEOLOGICAL DISCUSSION. 

The first question is closely connected with some of the subjects 
of the last Section. It states her views of the consistency of con- 
ditional promises ivith a free salvation. 

1 As to the promises' — Miss Graham observes — ' I do not say that 
they are unconditional either ; but I do say, that the conditions on 
which they depend are such as guilty man is altogether incapable 
of performing. I do say that Jesus as our Surety, has performed 
all these for us, and by his Spirit will perform them all in us. 
Through his perfect atonement we escape the threatenings ; through 
his unspotted obedience we become "heirs of the promises" — heirs 
of eternal life. For if the blame of our sins has been imputed to 
Him, then has the merit of His righteousness been imputed to us. 
"If he has been made sin for us, then have we been made the 
righteousness. of God in him." 6 And because the promises are ours 
for his sake, therefore the conditions of them are worked in us by 
his free Spirit ; " for it is not we who live the life of faith, but Christ 
that liveth in us." 7 

' One of the sweetest promises, upon which the mind of every 
Christian rests with unspeakable delight, runs thus : " Him that 
cometh unto me, I will in no wise cast out." 8 Here is a condition, 
" Him that, cometh ;" and a promise — "I will not cast out." But 
who are those that come to Jesus ? " All that the Father giveth 

i Matthew vi. 22, 23. 2 i Cor. viii. 1. s j hn iii. 27. 

4 Ibid. vii. 16, 17. 5 Heb. vi. 17. 18. 

6 2 Cor. v. 21. Romans iv. 6; v. 19. Galatians iii. 29. 

"* Galatians ii. 20. John xv. 4,5. 8 j hn vi. 37. 



• 






MEMOIR OF MARY JANE GRAHAM. 67 

me shall come to me." " No man can come to me, except the 
Father which hath sent me draw him." "No man can come to 
me, except it were given to him of my Father." 1 How distinctly 
are we here told, that the same free mercy, which promises to re- 
ceive us when we come, must be put forth to make us come ; or we 
never should come ! The promise will surely be fulfilled to all who 
obey the condition : but none can obey the condition, save those 
to whom it is given? 

1 Every condition necessary to salvation,' she remarks, ' is fulfilled 
in us, not by any efforts of our own, but by our " receiving" con- 
tinually "grace for grace out of the fulness of Jesus.'" In confir- 
mation of her argument, she adduces the Christian graces (repent- 
ance, faith, love,) as required of us, but yet wrought in us. Thus 
she concludes this discussion — ' The great question, then, about the 
promises seems to be, not so much whether they are conditional, as 
whether God looks to Christ, or to us, for the performance of those 
conditions. If to Christ, the burden is laid upon "one that is 
mighty :" if to us, then we are undone: 'for the condition of man 
after the fall is such, that he cannot turn and prepare himself, 
by his own natural strength and good works, to faith and calling 
upon God : wherefore we have no power to do good works pleasant 
and acceptable to God, without the grace of God by Christ prevent- 
ing us, that we may have a good will, and working with us when 
we have that good will" 2 

The statement is confessedly strong and uncompromising ; yet 
it is, in the writer's apprehension, neither unguarded, unscriptural, 
or discouraging. It assumes with our church the scriptural point 
not of the weakness but of the utter helplessness of man. 3 It 
connects the freeness of the Gospel with the sovereign purpose and 
Almighty grace of God. 4 Thus man and God are each in his 
proper place; man in the dust — God on the throne. The humble 
and intelligent believer will acknowledge of every act of faith and 
obedience to the end of his course — " Thou also hast wrought all 
our works in us." 5 Nor will he hesitate to trace all these works to 
the " good pleasure" of his God as the first cause. 6 

The opposite statement may be easily proved to be most dis- 
couraging. The free invitations of the Gospel are unconnected 
with an entire dependence upon Divine grace to enable the sinner 
to accept them. Conscious inability is therefore left without any 
power to act upon it. The sinner is either blinded in self-delusion, 
or hardened in despondency. On the other hand, his helplessness 
is taught to depend upon the sovereign pleasure of a God of love ; 
and he "works out his salvation with fear and trembling" indeed, 
but with confident hope of perseverance. 7 

i John. vi. 37, 44, 65. 2 Art. X. Freeness of Grace, pp. 28— 30, 33—36, 37. 

3 See Article X, and the multiplied testimonies from her Collects and other parts of 
our Evangelical services. Compare John xv. 5. Ephesians ii. 1. 
* Compare John vi. 37, with 44, 65. 5 Isaiah xxvi. 12. 

6 Philippians ii. 13. 7 ibid. ii. 12, 13. 



- 



68 MEMOIR OF MARV JANE GRAHAM. 

The unscriptural use of the term condition with many theologians 
— .as if man could of himself perform the work of his salvation — 
has brought it into unmerited disrepute. Yet in Miss Graham's 
view, conditional promises ultimately resolve themselves into abso- 
lute unconditional love. The duties of Christian obedience — the di- 
vinely appointed means of enjoying the promises — do not depend 
upon anything to be fulfilled by us. They constitute a part of the 
engagements of the evangelical covenant, by which the Lord ful- 
fils the demands of his law, by the Almighty power of his grace. 1 
Miss Graham with many excellent men would altogether abolish 
the use of the term, at least as applied to us. But it has been al- 
lowed by many of our most orthodox divines, 2 whose statements 
cannot justly be accused of infringing upon the freeness of the 
Gospel. It would be difficult to substitute any other theological 
term, that would express the sense of many important declarations 3 
of Scripture with equal precision and appropriateness. Let it be 
understood to imply — not what is meritorious, but what is necessary 
to the economy of the Gospel — not an efficient cause, but an indis- 
pensable requisite. Is it not then needless scrupulosity to exchange 
a convenient term of explication for feeble circumlocution? And 
may there not be some danger, lest in our anxiety to preserve the 
freeness of scriptural statement, we unconsciously become fettered 
in the bonds of human systems ? 

Her letter upon the nature and degree of explicit faith neces- 
sary for acceptance with God is highly interesting. 

' The question you propose about prayer, does not appear to me 
to admit of a doubt. ' Ought there not to be in every prayer a 
reference to the intercession of Christ? Will the earnestness and 
sincerity of a prayer avail without it?' Doubtless, my dearest 
friend, there ought to be this reference : nor can a believer in Jesus 
imagine a prayer without it. But when an unbeliever first begins 
to long after the knowledge of God, the intercession of Christ may 
be a part of this knowledge, respecting which he is in utter dark- 
ness. Shall the earnest and sincere petition which he offers under 
such circumstances be disregarded? Is not the intercession of 
Christ going on for him as surely as if he knew of it; and is not 
this poor ignorant prayer the first-fruits of this intercession ? And 
will not the Father accept it for the sake of his beloved Son, though 
the sinner as yet knows not how to offer it in his name ? Certain 
I am, that the person who thus begins to seek after the Lord with 
his whole heart, will ere long have Jesus revealed in his soul ; and 
then he will seek in the name of Jesus. The most signal answer 
I ever received to prayer, was at a time, when I was so bewildered 
in the labyrinth of infidelity, that I actually should have feared to 
have been guilty of blasphemy, had I prayed in the name of Jesus. 

1 Hebrews viii. 10. Thus in Matthew vi. 14, 15, by his law he requires a forgiving 
temper ; by his grace he imparts it. 2 Calvin, Owen, &c. 

3 Such as Matthew vi. 14, 15. Luke xiii. 3, 5. Col. i. 21—23. Heb. iii. 6, 14. 



MEMOIR OF MARY JANE GRAHAM. 69 

Iii sincerity and earnestness I prayed to be taught whether Jesus 
Christ was an impostor or not ; and for the sake of that precious 
Saviour, whom I thus insultingly doubted, my prayer was an- 
swered. 1 

'But our experience is of little value, unless it agrees with Scrip- 
ture. I think the Bible is very clear upon this head, and there- 
fore I venture to speak so confidently. I will mention two or three 
texts : " He that cometh to God mast believe that he is, and that 
he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him."* Is not this 
a description of the degree of faith and knowledge, which is neces- 
sary before a person can come and pray to God in an acceptable 
manner? And is not this the sum of it, that he must believe that 
there is a God, and that, if he diligently seeks this God, he shall be 
rewarded by finding the object of his search ? There is not a word 
about — ' He that cometh to God must believe and pray through the 
intercession of Christ ;' though no doubt the person who believes so 
far as is mentioned in the text, will soon believe God in Christ, as 
he is revealed in the Gospel. So then, if a Pagan or Mahometan 
in the darkest corner of the earth, or an infidel in this country, 
were to begin to seek God diligently, from the mere "belief that he 
is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him," 
upon the warrant of this text I should have no doubt of his accept- 
ance. 3 Again, " If any man will (or wishes to) do the will of God, 
he shall know of the doctrine, whether it be of God, or ivhether I 
speak of myself ," 4 Here is the case supposed of a man, who, so 
far from praying in the name of Jesus, is not yet convinced whether 
his doctrines are divine, or whether he is a mere pretender, " speak- 
ing of himself." What then is the preparation required ? He 
wishes to do the will of God. He would gladly worship God 
aright, and submit to his will in all things. Yet he cannot pray 
at first with any reference to the intercession of Jesus. For he 
would think it sinful to do so, as long as he knows not " whether 
the doctrine be of God, or whether Jesus Christ spake of himself." 
Yet this man — we have the word of Jesus for it — " shall know of 

1 See her own interesting description of this state of mind, chap ii. 

2 Hebrews xi. 6. 

3 This text may, doubtless, be accommodated for intelligent and warranted encourage- 
ment in the case here presented to us. Yet it may be questioned whether Miss Gra- 
ham's exposition includes the whole substance of the Apostle's mind. The faith of Cain 
in bringing his offering probably admitted the naked belief of the existence of God, and of 
his bounty to those that inquired after him. The Apostle's definition however stands in 
immediate connection with the faith of Abel and Enoch, (ver. 4, 5,) which implied access 
to God, and communion with him through an acceptable medium. Indeed the true faith 
in God's existence seems necessarily to suppose some relation to him. See Gen. xvii. 1. 
Exod. iii. 14. The very expectation of reward to sinners deserving condemnation, must, 
in a righteous government, be grounded upon some apprehension, however obscure, of a 
way of favorable acceptance. The desire and act of seeking also supposes some rule to 
direct our path and warrant our hope — a rule founded upon some new relation between 
God and his creatures, by which merited judgment is averted, and "mercy rejoiceth 
against judgment." 

4 John vii. 17. Doddridge remarks on Acts x. 34, 35, a somewhat parallel text— < I 
think this text proves, that God would sooner send an angel to direct pious and upright 
persons to the knowledge of the Gospel, than suffer them to perish by ignorance of it. 



70 MEMOIR OF MARY JANE GRAHAM. 

the doctrine." Consider also the free and general promise of Christ, 
that " our heavenly Father will give the Holy Ghost to them that 
ask him." 1 Suppose yourself to have been in the state of mind of 
the text just mentioned, and to have heard this gracious promise. 
Would you have any thought of any intercession — of anything be- 
yond asking ? And you would probably have asked — ' O my hea- 
venly Father, give thy Spirit to teach me whether this man is sent 
by thee, or whether he speaks of himself.'' Suppose for a moment 
(God forbid that any one should suppose it in reality !) that, after 
after having offered this prayer sincerely, earnestly, perseveringly, 
you were at last suffered to perish for lack of knowledge ; that the 
Holy Spirit for which you asked was not given, because you asked 
it not, (and how could you ?) in the name of Jesus, the promise 
would seem to carry with it a want of sincerity, as having a con- 
dition attached to it, which was concealed from you, and which the 
very nature of your petition incapacitated you from performing, 
until further knowledge was given. I believe, that, when Christ 
said — " Ask, and it shall be given you," 2 he meant what he said, 
in the literal sense of the word. 

' It is remarkable, that asking in the name of Christ, was a doctrine 
not revealed to the disciples, till shortly before his death, though 
they must often have prayed before, and that with acceptance. 
The Lord's Prayer also contains no express reference to this doctrine, 
though doubtless every Christian in his heart, offers it in the one 
name, through which he looks for acceptance. Let us take the 
text above mentioned, to an assembly of Indians. Let us say to 
them — ' You know not what to think of our doctrine concerning 
Jesus. You would take him for your Lord and your God, if you 
were sure that all we say about him is true. We will tell you 
how to find this out. There is a promise in the book, out of which 
we preach to you, that God " will give the Holy Spirit to them that 
ask him." The Holy Spirit is given to teach you about Jesus. If 
you will ask for this teaching, you shall have it ; and then you 
shall know what to think of our doctrine.' They ask. In the 
name of Jesus they cannot ask. For the very point in question, 
the very thing which they ask God to teach them is, whether the 
name of Jesus is of any avail or not. They are impelled to ask by 
a "belief that there is a God, and that he is a rewarder of them 
that diligently seek him." Will the promise be made good to them 
or not? Or will this failing to pray in a manner in which they do 
not believe (that is — to act contrary to the reason, which God him- 
self has lighted up within them) annul the engagement, by which 
God has bound himself, that all that ask should have? Oh! no. 
This is prayer; and it is praying with precisely that degree of 
"faith, without which it is impossible to please God." " To every 
one that hath thus much shall be given, and he shall have abun- 
dance" 3 — he shall be rich in faith. And this is as true to my mind, 

1 Luke xi. 13. 2 Ibid. v. 9. 3 Matthew xxv. 29. 



MEMOIR OP MARY JANE GRAHAM. 71 

as clear as any of the promises of God can be. You say — c Must 
faith be acting at the time V I think the degree of faith mentioned 
in Heb. xi. 6, must. Yet even this, we know, may be a trembling 
faith, such as — " If thou canst do anything — Lord, I believe : 
help thou mine unbelief." 1 But "the day of small things," 2 the 
first prayers of a hitherto unbelieving sinner have something in 
them unspeakably interesting. And it is so delightful to feel, that 
the very fcast of the " small things" comes from God, and implies 
pardon and heaven, and all those great things, which " eye hath 
not seen, nor ear heard," 3 that we cannot dwell upon them without 
transport. This is that " faith, which is as a grain of mustard- 
seed." 4 Wrapped within its minute, dry, and unsightly husk is the 
embryo of the future tree, which shall expand and "flourish in the 
courts of our God." Oh ! what a God of wonders ! As we cannot 
look into the hearts of others, it is hard to know when the prayer 
is earnest and sincere. But if we could discern this, we might 
look at such a prayer with the same confident assurance that 
showers of blessings would follow it, as Elijah knew that there 
would be "abundance of rain," though there was nothing to be 
seen but a little cloud like a man's hand.' 5 

This letter involves a question of much interest and no small 
difficulty. Miss Graham's sympathy with the case supposed 
enabled her to fix a conscious grasp upon the subject, and to speak 
directly to the point with much force and clearness. The instance 
of the penitent Ninevites, 6 ignorant of the medium of acceptance, 
might have been added to her Scripture illustrations of the argu- 
ment. And we can scarcely doubt that the cry to a Supreme 
Being — ' Ens entium, miserere meV 7 — " seeking the Lord, if haply 
they might feel after him, and find him" 8 — may have proved the 
first dawn of light and love to some awakened consciences in a 
benighted world. 

No other way to God than by Christ 9 is here supposed, though 
an unconscious approach through him is admitted. For ourselves, 
however, who have been made acquainted with his precious name, 
no obligation is more important, no privilege more delightful, than 
the constant dependence upon it in every step of access to God. It 
covers all guilt, defilement, ignorance, and infirmities. It assures 
our confidence in the presence of a God of inflexible justice and 
unspotted holiness. Our persons and services, in themselves most 
unsuited to his awful majesty, are presented through this medium, 
clothed with Divine beauty, and commended in his sight as " a 
sweet-smelling savor." A clear knowledge of the person of Christ 
is therefore necessary as the basis of Christian confidence. The 
exercise of this confidence will be — not to apprehend him separately 

i Mark ix. 22, 24. 2 Zech. iv. 10. 3 1 Cor. ii. 9. 

4 Matt. xvii. 20. 5 i Kings xviii. 44. 6 Jonah iii. 

7 ' Author of Being, "have pity;" or perhaps — " have niercy on me'' — coming in the 
character of a sinner.' 

8 Acts xvii. 37. 9 John xiv. 6. 



72 MEMOIR OF MARY JANE GRAHAM. 

either as God or man, but to make his entire person the object of 
our trust. This intelligent and spiritual worship is as superior to 
mere external service, as the blood of the Son of God. by which we 
are brought into the capacity for it, is to the vile and corruptible 
things of earth. 

The question under consideration, however, requires a wise mix- 
ture of decision and forbearance to determine its precise limits. 
While insisting upon the importance of a clear apprehension of 
Divine truth, we would present the full Scriptural encouragement 
to souls emerging out of darkness with a simple desire to know the 
light ; seeking the truth, yet knowing not where to find it. Let 
them wait in the twilight for the dawning day, humbly, prayerfully, 
earnestly. Sincerity in the diligent and persevering habit of faith 
will not be left in darkness. On the other hand, it must be remem- 
bered, that the influence of the Holy Spirit, needful for every act 
of faith and prayer, stands in ordinary conjunction with revealed 
truth. 1 Let us beware, therefore, lest by broad statements we lose 
sight of the great fundamentals of the Gospel, and forget that " there 
is none other name than Christ under heaven given among men, 
whereby we must be saved," and that " life eternal" consists in the 
knowledge of Him. 2 Let us also carefully connect the general 
promises of the early dispensation of the Gospel with the more full 
and clear light subsequently vouchsafed. The direction to which 
Miss Graham refers — "Ask, seek, and knock" — must ever be linked 
with the name of Christ. His name is our only warrant to "ask." 
Himself is the only way to " seek :" the only door at which we can 
" knock" with any well-grounded hope of acceptance. 3 In the 
neglect of this theology, we should attempt to open a way to heaven 
without "entering in by the door." We should admit the unscrip- 
tural supposition of pleasing God " without faith." 4 We should 
endeavor to maintain our complete acceptance with God without 
the continual application of "the blood of sprinkling." 5 'Take 
heed' — said the excellent Dr. Owen — 'lest, while we endeavor to 
invent new ways to heaven for others, by so doing we lose the true 
way ourselves.' 6 

Miss Graham's discussion of the subject, in connection with the 
experience of the intelligent Christian, is most satisfactory and edi- 
fying. 

' I think I now quite understand you about prayer. My reason 
for speaking of the beginnings only of prayer was, that I thought 
no confirmed Christian could possibly pray without a reference to 
the mediation of Christ Jesus. But your observation, that we may 
pray without immediately referring to it, or even thinking directly 
of it, is very just, as in the case you mention of ejaculatory prayer. 
But I would ask. you, my dearest friend, is it not an understood 

1 See Gal. iii. 2. 2 Acts iv. 12. John xvii. 3. 1 John v. 20. 

3 Matt. vii. 7, 8, with John xvi. 23, 24 ; xiv. 6 ; x. 9. 

< Heb. xi. 6. 5 Heb. x. 19 -22; xii. 24. 

6 Display of Arminianism, chap. xi. 



to 



MEMOIR OP MARY JANE GRAHAM. 73 

matter between us and our heavenly Father, that we are to have 
all things in the name of Jesus? Would we, if we could, receive 
even the least of our blessings through any other medium ? Is it 
not the very joy of our hearts to have everything, and do everything 
through Christ; to believe that the Father loves us for his sake; 
accepts us in him; hears our prayers, not because they are ours, 
but because he offers them for us ? And is this fixed, settled, deep- 
rooted feeling less, when in ejaculatory prayer there is no immedi- 
ate reference to his mediation, than in our larger devotions, when 
we stop to make out our title more fully, and to dwell upon it more 
largely? It is delightful and profitable to do this ; but yet I think 
the intention of our hearts is the same in both cases. If you were 
asked after one of these short prayers — ' How do you expect or wish 
to be heard?' would you not reply — 'In the only name of my Be- 
loved !' And would not the heaven of heavens seem less desirable 
of attainment, if by any possibility we could possess it in our own 
name, instead of the security of Jesus having entered before us and 
for us ? I hope I am not wrong, and I am sure I would not object 
to repeating as often as possible to ourselves and to others our entire 
reliance upon his name. But I think, that when his mediation has 
become the very life and food of our souls, we need not torment 
ourselves with the fear, that such or such a prayer will not be an- 
swered, because I did not think of making formal mention of the 
ground on which I asked. Let me rather say — ' God knows that 
I would not, if I might, have it answered in any other way. He 
knows what I mean and constantly desire ; and, if through infir- 
mity, I may have expressed myself amiss or deficiently, infinite love 
will not misunderstand me." If you think I have taken a wrong 
view, tell me, my dear friend. But I am confirmed in it by this 
circumstance. When I am in a truly spiritual state, the mediation 
of Christ is (as it were) so worked up into my being, that I am often 
(except in stated prayers) not conscious of a direct reference to it at 
one time more than at another. Yet I think my mind never loses 
the idea. It is perpetually resting upon this sure anchor of hope. 
But when I am in a cold and careless state, (as at the present time) 
I lean upon it with an unstable faith. I am therefore much more 
often conscious of a direct reference to it. The shortest of my 
prayers have a sort of formality about them, from the cold repeated 
reference of the name of my Saviour. I do not know whether this 
is your case. I had rather have the thing so constantly in my 
heart, that I scarcely stop explicitly to allude to it, than lose the 
consciousness of it so often (as I now do) that I am obliged to re- 
mind myself of it, in order to plead it with God. But I think that 
in all sincere ejaculations there is an inward, though perhaps almost 
unconscious, feeling- of repose and delight in his name, through which 
alone we desire to have acceptance with the Father. I fear I have 
not expressed my meaning intelligibly. I have sent, as you desired, 
my thoughts without reserve ; though I know too little of the spirit 



74 MEMOIR OF MARY JANE GRAHAM. 

and power of prayer to qualify me to give my sentiments on so im- 
portant a subject.' 

The following letter on Prayer to the Holy /Spirit, evinces much 
thought and spirituality. 

1 1 feel very incompetent to give you any opinion on the point 
you mention about the Holy Spirit. Yet I have no doubt whatever 
in my own mind, that it is both right and desirable to pray to Him 
separately and distinctly. I should be very much afraid, that the 
contrary opinion would gradually tend to undermine our faith in 
the Personality of the Holy Spirit ; unless indeed it is meant by 
this, that we are to pray to the Triune God only, and not either 
to the Father, the Son, or the Spirit, considered as separate persons. 
I have no doubt, as you say, that when we pray to the Father, we 
do worship this Trinity in Unity ; and perhaps this is the most 
proper way of addressing our usual petitions. But it appears to 
me. that separate addresses are permitted, if not sanctioned in 
Scripture. And what I w T ould earnestly contend for, (but that I 
fear I may be meddling " with things too high for me,") is this — 
If the Father and the Son may be separately addressed ; then, not 
to allow of a separate address to the Spirit, is to rob him in some 
measure of his equal glory, and to do away with his Personality. 
I do not at this moment recollect any direct instances of prayer to 
the Holy Ghost in the Bible, though I think that there are many 
in which he would appear to be the person addressed. But if 
prayer comprehend adoration and thanksgiving, we often address 
him separately in the Liturgy, when we say — ' Glory be to the 
Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost,' — a form of words, 
in which we imitate the Seraphim before the Throne, who cry — 
" Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord of Hosts : the whole earth is fidl of 
His glory." 1 The same separate act of worship is surely implied 
when the four beasts, who rest not day 'and night, adore the Al- 
mighty, saying — "Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty, which 
was, and is, and is to come." 2 Jesus commanded to " baptize in 
the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost." 3 
Here again a separate act of worship seems to be implied. By 
baptizing in the name of each Person of the Holy Trinity, dis- 
tinctly and separately repeated, I cannot but understand, that we 
separately invoke each of them to perform their covenanted part 
in the redemption of the baptized person. But I think, that it may 
at once decide the question, that we are said to be " the temple of 
the Holy Ghost ;" 4 and why he should come and dwell in this tem- 
ple, except to receive our acts of worship, I do not see. Besides, 
all his offices invite us to pray to him. He is our Comforter ; 5 and 
this warrants us to ask him for comfort. It is his work to "shed 
abroad the love of God in our hearts ;" to cause us to "abound in 
hope ;" and to " take of Christ's and show to us." 6 But surely " for 

1 Isaiah vi. 3. 2 Rev. iv. 8. 3 Matt, xxviii. 19. 

* 1 Cor. iii. 16; vi. 19. 5 John xiv. 16. 

6 Rom. v. 5; xv. 13. John xvi. 14, 15. 



MEMOIR OF MARY JANE GRAHAM. 75 

all these things he will be inquired of by us, to do them for us." 1 
I had almost forgotten to mention that beautiful prayer, Numbers 
vi. 24 — 26, which I have always considered as a separate invoca- 
tion of the Persons of the Sacred Trinity. May " the fellowship 
of the Holy Ghost" be with us ! and may he fulfil his sacred office 
in teaching us what to pray for, and how to pray !' 

This question has exercised the minds of many sincere Chris- 
tians. Perhaps an endeavor to present it in its full Scriptural light 
will not be unacceptable. The exclusive claim of the only true 
God to the worship of his creatures is one of the first principles of 
right reason and of religion. Upon this eternal and unchangeable 
ground our Lord denied to Satan the worship which he demanded 
of him. 2 We may remark, therefore, upon the general subject, 
that the proofs of the Personality and Deity of the Holy Spirit are 
so decisive, (though obviously this is not the place for their produc- 
tion,) that only scrupulosity of mind and judgment could restrain 
us from giving the honor of Divine worship from the want of a 
more explicit revelation. The Divine nature — not the distinct. 
Personality — is the proper and necessary ground of worship. Each 
person therefore in the sacred Trinity possesses equal and unalien- 
able claims — not as a Person, hut as God — to the trust, love, sub- 
jection, invocation, and every form and act of worship from the 
creatures of God. The Holy Spirit, therefore, ' with the Father 
and the Son, together is worshipped and glorified.' 3 

As to the detail of the question, the worship of heaven, as Miss 
Graham observes, appears to be given to him. At least, he is never 
mentioned among the universal chorus of worshippers ; which [con- 
sidering his Personality) is some negative testimony on this point. 
He is represented as u proceeding out of the throne," being not only 
"before," but in the " midst of the throne ;" his " seven eyes" mark- 
ing his omniscience : his sevenfold influence, his divine perfections. 4 
The thrice-repeated invocation of the heavenly host, while it proves 
his distinct Personality in the undivided Trinity, evidently includes 
his worship. " The Lord sitting upon his throne" and worshipped 
with most solemn and impressive adoration, sent by his own au- 
thority, and spake by his own mouth, that commission to the Pro- 
phet, which an Apostle declares to have been delivered to him by 
the Holy Ghost. 5 

The worship of earth commences at the visible entrance into 
the Church of God. The very first act of Christian worship in the 
administration of baptism is not only, as Miss Graham observes, a 
separate invocation of the Holy Spirit, but also a dedication of the 
baptized person to his service. 6 For as the administration of this 

1 Ezek. xxxvi. 37. 2 Matt. iv. 9, 10, with Luke iv. 6, 7. Comp. Ps. xlv. 11. 

3 Nicene Creed. 4 R ev . xx ji. i . j v 5. v . 6. 

s Compare Isaiah vi. 1—3, 8 — 10, with Acts xxviii. 25. 

6 Matthew xxviii. 19". The phrase " baptized unto Moses,' 1 (1 Cor. x 2.) includes this 
idea. The people were, as by baptism, consecrated unto God under the conduct and in- 
struction of his servant Moses. 



76 MEMOIR OF MARY JANE GRAHAM. 

seal of the covenant in the name of the Holy Ghost is a direct ac 
knowledgment of this Divine Person as conjointly with the Father 
and the Son, our covenant God ; so it necessarily implies also the 
reciprocal obligations of faith, obedience, and worship. "The com- 
munion" or " fellowship of the Spirit 1 ' (one of the most enlivening 
privileges of the Gospel) must also, like the " fellowship with the 
Father and the Son," 1 be maintained by prayer in the large accep- 
tation of the term. For how else, but in worship, can a creature 
hold communion with his God? This worship St. John scrupled 
not to give to the Holy Spirit, in supplicating from him, conjointly 
with the Father and the Son, a large supply of spiritual blessings 
upon the Church of God. 2 

In Christian experience, the offices of the Holy Spirit — as Miss 
Graham remarks — especially when connected id it k his Divine Per- 
sonality, naturally imply supplication. In reference to one of these 
offices, Scripture parallelism, together with the marked distinction 
of the Sacred Persons, exhibits St. Paul probably on more than one 
occasion invoking the Holy Spirit as the " God that heareth prayer." 3 
Nor indeed can we conceive of his presence in us as his temple, 
without all the devotional exercises of reverence and praise for his 
condescending love. 

The part ichich the Holy Spirit maintains in the administra- 
tion of the Church, shows that his claim to immediate worship was 
fully acknowledged. It was after a day of public and special 
supplication, that He directed by His own authority the consecra- 
tion of ministers to His immediate service, and sent them forth to 
their work. 4 To whom, then, we may ask, had the prayers of the 
Church been specially addressed, but to Himself, who was mani- 
festly the object, as well as the author, of their consecration ? And 
to whom did the worship connected with this solemn service belong, 
but to Him, who was the direct source and fountain of it? We 
need again only advert to his acknowledged power in the ordina- 
tion of the ministers of the Church. 5 and to the exercise of his sove- 
reignty in the appointment and restraint of their several spheres of 
labor, 6 and in the distribution of his gifts, 7 as a scriptural warrant 
for the direct and distinct mode of address to Him employed in the 
Consecration services of our Church. 

The Christian investigator of the early Ecclesiastical Records 
will observe with delight this Divine worship fully pervading the 
rituals of the Primitive churches. 8 Our own Church, closely fol- 

i 2 Cor. xiii. 14. Phil. ii. 1, with I John i. 3. 

2 Rev. i. 4. 5. " The seven Spirits," placed in this invocation before Christ, could not 
be the holy angels ; whose name and inheritance are infinitely below him, and whose con- 
scious unworthiness in two recorded instances refused the proffered worship of an apostle. 
Rev. xix. 10 ; xxii. 8, 9. 

3 Compare 2 Thes. iii. 5, with Rom. v. 5. See also the same apparent distinction of 
persons marked 1 Thes. iii. 12, 13. 

4 Acts xiii. 2, 4. 5 Acts xx. 28. « Acts xx. 22; xvi. 6, 7. 
i 1 Cor. xii. 4, 7—11. 

8 Kurrion's valuable Sermons on the Divinity of the Holy Spirit, and Dr. Berriman's 



MEMOIR OP MARY JANE GRAHAM. 77 

lowing her sacred exemplar, has not confined this adoration of the 
Holy Spirit to her more exclusive Ministerial services. How often 
has the introduction of it into her Litany elevated (he faith, and 
refreshed the spirits of her sincere worshippers ! The frequent 
repetition of the doxology in her Liturgical exercises, is in the true 
spirit of the heavenly worship ; and it may be a matter of just sur- 
prise, that any who have constantly and joyfully united in this 
public ascription of praise to the blessed Spirit, as well as in many 
of our congregational hymns to a similar purport, should be exer- 
cised with scruples as to the Scriptural ground of the private duty 
and privilege of prayer to the same divine person. 

Miss Graham considered, and with some justice, that many 
Christians are defective in rendering due and equal honor to the 
Holy Spirit. Her own views of his personality were remarkably 
clear. • I feel' — said she on one occasion — ' " the love of the Spirit" 1 
as distinct from the manifestation of the love of Christ to my soul. 
Is this wrong?' Then she added — ' I think I can account for the 
feeling ; as I have made it a matter of especial prayer, that I might 
have clearer views of the Holy Spirit.' She was accustomed (as 
we have already seen 2 ) to address Him in direct, and probably fre- 

and Waterland's Sermons on the Trinitarian Controversy, give a condensed and satis- 
factory body of evidence on this subject. 

1 Romans xv. 30. 

2 See her Prayer before Study, pp. 22, 24. The writer cannot forbear to transcribe a 
few specimens of the Spirit of supplication in a full, self-abasing, pleading, and enlarged 
address tothis Divine Person from the heart and pen of holy Mr. Baxter. " Unto thee, 
the Eternal Holy Spirit, proceeding from the Father and the Son, the Communicative 
Love, who condescendeth to make perfect the elect of God, do I deliver up this dark, im- 
perfect soul, 10 be further renewed, confirmed, and perfected, according to the Holy Cov- 
enant. Refuse not to bless it with thine indwelling and operations ; quicken it with thy 
life; irradiate it with thy light; sanctify it by thy love ; actuate it purely, powerfully, and 
constantly by thy holy motions. And though the way of this thy sacred influence be 
beyond the reach of human apprehensions, yet let me know the reality and saving power 
of it by the happy effects. Thou art more to souls than souls to bodies, than light to eyes. 
Oh leave not my soul as a corpse destitute of thy life ; nor its eyes as useless, destitute of 
thy light; nor leave it a senseless block without thy motion. Alas! I feel, I daily feel 
that I am dead to all good, and all that is good is dead to me, if thou be not the life of all. 
Teachings and reproofs, mercies and corrections, yea, the Gospel itself, and all the liveliest 
books and sermons, are dead to me, because I am dead to them. Yea, God is as no God 
to me, and Heaven as no heaven, and Christ as no Christ, and the clearest evidences of 
Scripture verity are as no proofs at all, if thou represent them not with light and power 
to my soul. O thou that hast begun, and given me those heavenly intimations and de- 
sires which flesh and blood could never give me, suffer not my folly to quench these 
sparks, nor this brutish flesh to prevail against thee, nor the powers of hell to stifle and 
kill such a heavenly seed. O pardon that folly and wilfulness, which have too often, too 
obdurately, and too unthankfully striven against thy grace, and depart not from my un- 
kind and sinful soul. I remember with grief and shame, how I wilfully bore down thy 
motions ; punish it not with desertion, and give me not over to myself; Art thou not in 
covenant with me, as my Sanctifier, and Confirmer, and Comforter? I never undertook 
to do these things for myself; but I consent that thou shouldest work them on me, as thou 
art the agent and advocate of Jesus my Lord. O plead his cause effectually in my soul 
against the suggestions of Satan and my unbelief; and finish his healing, saving work; 
and let not the flesh and world prevail. Be in me the resident witness of my Lord, the 
Author of my prayers, the Spirit of adoption, the seal of God, and the earnest of mine 
inheritance. Let not my nights be so long, nor my days so short, nor sin eclipse those 
beams, which have often illuminated my soul. Without thee, books are senseless scrawls, 
studies are dreams, learning is a glow-worm, and wit is but wantonness, impertinence, and 



78 MEMOIR OF MARY JANE GRAHAM. 

quent supplication. The spiritual life indeed of the Christian is 
much employed in His reverential service. As " the sin against the 
Holy Ghost*' (whatever that might be) included a wilful rejection 
of his faith, honor, and worship; so does every sin of "grieving" 
our Divine Comforter, and " resisting" his holy influence, partake, 
according to its measure, of the same character. 1 The antecedent 
obligation is therefore sufficiently obvious. The being against 
whom sin is committed, must be the worthy object of religious 
honor and service. All the exercises therefore of contrition and 
self-abasement on account of sin, are our humiliating but ready 
acknowledgments of the claim of the Holy Spirit to our dutiful obe- 
dience and worship. Perhaps the circumstance of our worship 
being the effect of his own sacred influence and teaching, may ac- 
count for some want of distinctness in setting forth the obligation. 
But his Divine Person and offices necessarily imply our equal de- 
pendence upon his power and love : and the full and frequent con- 
fession of his claim will result in a large supply of his heavenly 
grace, strength, and consolation. 

Should some of the minor particles of illustration be thought to 
possess little or no positive weight, they may yet derive force and 
clearness from their connection with more decisive grounds of evi- 
dence. From the main points, however, and from the whole view 
of the question, sufficient warrant may be deduced to satisfy per- 
plexed and unsettled inquirers, and to quicken even the most intel- 
ligent servant of God to a more habitual acknowledgment of his 
duty, and enjoyment of his privilege in communion with the Holy 
Ghost. If a more explicit testimony still be demanded, we must 
recur to first principles, never more valuable than on these subjects. 
" It is written.'''' What is written is sufficient. What is withheld 
is best withheld. Man would be " wise above what is written." 
Had more been revealed, more would still have been desired ; and 
the appetite for what is beyond human research would have been 
more excited, and not only without practical benefit, but to the 
great detriment of Scriptural knowledge. Enough is given both in 
substance and clearness to direct and encourage our supplications 
to the Divine Spirit for a full supply of his heavenly influence. But 
in this and every other approach to the doctrine of the Trinity, many 
questions must arise, and must remain unanswered. All that belongs 

folly. Transcribe those secret precepts on my heart, which by thy dictates and inspira- 
tions are recorded in thy holy word. I refuse not thy help for tears and groans; but oh ! 
" shed abroad that love upon my heart," which may keep it in a continual life of love. 
And teach me the work which I must do in heaven. Refresh my soul with the delights 
of holiness, and the joys which arise from the believing hopes of the everlasting joys. Ex- 
ercise my heart and tongue in the holy praises of my Lord. Strengthen me in sufferings ; 
and conquer the terrors of death and hell. Make me the more heavenly, by how much 
faster am I hastening to heaven ; and let my last thoughts, words, and works on earth 
be likestto those, which shall be my first in the state of glorious immortality, where the 
kingdom is delivered up to the Father, and God will forever be AH, and in All: of whom, 
and through him, and to whom are all things. To whom be glory forever. Amen.' — 
Reasons for Christian Religion, Part ii. chap. xii. pp. 461 — 463. 
1 Comp. Matt. xii. 32. Eph. iv. 30. Acts vii. 51 ; v. 4. 



MEMOIR OF MARY JANE GRAHAM. 79 

to the inner sanctuary of the essence of the ever-blessed Triune God, 
is equally above conception and expression. The Scriptures inform 
us of his nature, but they do not reason about it. A divinely 
guarded and sacred veil covers him from our view. And much 
thought upon this deep subject of Deity — irrespective of, and be- 
yond, the sacred boundaries — either involves us in the labyrinth 
of metaphysics, or sinks us into the gross, low, and familiar views 
of an opposite school. Our inquiries into this subject must be con- 
ducted with the deepest caution and the most profound humility. 
All that belongs to God's own revelation of himself must be re- 
ceived with unfeigned submission and contentment. To seek for 
"access through Christ by the Spirit unto the Father,*' 1 is the rubric 
for Christian worship ; and in a strict attention to this Scriptural 
directory, every act, thought, and desire of prayer will become a 
means of communion with each of the Sacred Persons in the Di- 
vine essence, " without difference or inequality." At the same time, 
as our minds are drawn to a separate contemplation of them (espe- 
cially as seeking those blessings which belong to their respective 
offices in the economy of grace) an immediate address to either of 
them is fully warranted ; always however remembering, that, which- 
ever person be the object of worship, the mediation of Christ is the 
only way of access, the only plea for acceptance. 

Adverting now to topics of more general interest, we transcribe 
from Miss Graham's Manuscript a few remarks upon the subject 
of Infidelity, as a fearful characteristic of the present day. They 
will be found to possess the usual marks of her sound, reflecting, 
Christian mind. Speaking of the importance of mathematical study 
as furnishing armor and discipline suitable to the present crisis, 2 she 
remarks — 

i Intelligent Christians are especially called upon to set themselves 
in strong array against the gathering forces of infidelity. This last 
enemy of Christianity is filling up his ranks from all classes of the 
community. The active diligence of his malignity naturally re- 
minds us of the prediction — " The devil is come down to you, having 
great wrath, because he knoweth that he hath but a short time." ' 3 
The deceitful and superficial character of the arguments em- 
ployed by the great adversary is well exposed. ' They generally 
consist,' she observes, ' of a confused mass of objections, apparently 
formidable from their very indistinctness. Like objects seen through 
a fog, the superficial observer supposes them to be larger than they 
really are. But let us disentangle the artful confusion of words and 
ideas. Let us set apart each argument for separate and minute 
scrutiny. Let us analyze the boasted reasonings of the infidel phi- 
losophy. We shall find that they may be classed under two heads 

1 Ephesians ii. 18. 
2 Yet, while insisting upon these advantages, she was not insensible to the ensnaring 
temptations connected with this investigating science. See the analysis of her Manu- 
script, p. 24, 25, note. 

3 Rev. xii. 12. 



80 MEMOIR OF MARY JANE GRAHAM. 

— Assertions which are true, but no way to the purpose : and as- 
sertions which are to the purpose, but they are not true. These 
form the materials of every plausible argument against Christianity. 
By this mixture of untrue and irrelevant matter with that which is 
true and pertinent, the understandings of the self-conceited and 
unwary are subverted. Strictly speaking, no assertion can be to 
the purpose which is not true. But it may be of such apparently 
pertinent application, as to lead us to examine less closely into its 
truth. On the other hand, if it be undeniably true, we sometimes 
forget to inquire (especially when many arguments of this kind are 
artfully interwoven together) whether it has any connection with 
the subject in hand.' 

In reference to the efforts necessary to resist this mighty spirit, 
she justly inculcates the importance of a well-furnished and well- 
disciplined mind, enabling us to meet the infidel upon his own 
ground of reason, and to fight him with his own sword. 

' Whenever, she observes, ' " the enemy thus comes in like a flood, 
the Spirit of the Lord will lift up a standard against him." 1 He, 
who in his purpose of inscrutable wisdom suffers these " scoffers to 
come in the last age," 2 will not fail to raise up men in his church 
well fitted to resist them. These champions of the cross must be 
men " strong in the faith," and " filled with the Holy Ghost." But, 
judging from the instruments which the Lord has employed in times 
past for his church, we are led to expect that they will be learned 
in all the wisdom of their enemies — in earthly as well as heavenly 
wisdom. To oppose the subtleties of Alius, an acute and powerful 
reasoner w T as raised up in the person of Athanasius. A wise and 
learned Augustine was provided to quell the dreadful heresy of Pe- 
lagius. Luther, Calvin, Melancihon, and almost all the eminent 
Reformers, were men of profound erudition, and strong powers of 
argumentation. " God hath chosen the foolish things of the world 
to confound the wise ;" 3 and he could now, and perhaps may, see 
fit to correct the progress of infidelity by means of "unlearned 
men." 4 Yet, when we look back upon the instruments which he 
has heretofore raised up, and consider the many advantages of 
human learning which he has placed within our reach, it seems 
evidently our duty to use those means to the utmost ; at least, until 
the Lord shall give us some clear indication of a more excellent and 
acceptable way. "Out of the mouths of babes and sucklings our 
God ordaineth strength." 5 Let us then seek to obtain the spirit and 
temper of a little child. But let us never forget, that, while "in 
malice we are children," it behooves us "in understanding to be 
men." ' 6 

She thus happily brings a scriptural illustration to bear upon her 
subject. 

' David with a sling and a stone fought Goliath and conquered. 

i Isaiah lix. 19. 2 8 Peter iii. 2 3 1 Cor. i. 27. 

4 Acts iv. 13. 5 Psalm viii, 2. 6 1 Cor.xiv. 20. 



MEMOIR OF MARY JANE GRAHAM. 81 

This time he wanted no other weapon, for God had appointed him 
no other. But when on a future occasion he was sore pressed by 
his enemies, he went into the temple of the Lord, and demanded 
the sword of that same Goliath. "There is none," said he, "like 
that ; give it me." 1 Why should he choose a weapon, which he 
had seen fall powerless from the hand of the uncircumcised Philis- 
tine? Because he knew that in the grasp of the circumcised David 
it would do goodly service. The hand, not the weapon, had been 
in fault. Thus may we, if called by the leadings of Providence, 
avail ourselves of human means, and meet our adversaries hand to 
hand with their own weapons. Only let us use David's caution. 
Let us not take the sword of the Philistine, till it has been con- 
secrated in the temple of the Lord.' 

The present face of the times, in the judgment of all intelligent 
observers, seems strongly to mark an impending crisis — as if the 
" Israel" of God " and the Philistines were putting the battle in 
array, army against army." 2 We know on which side the victory 
is secured. Yet the conflict will doubtless be severe. Let the 
servants of God gird themselves for " the good fight of faith," with 
the whole armor of God. This is no time for slumber or inaction. 
A religion taken upon trust, " received by tradition from our 
fathers," provides no resource in the hour of trial. A " faith, 
standing not upon the wisdom of man, but upon the power of 
God," 3 will be a defence, a stay, a ground of unfailing hope and 
consolation. 

But on this subject we will give Miss Graham's own words in a 
letter to her cousin. It will be found to be a refreshing specimen, 
of her practical and edifying mode of treating subjects, which have 
lately been found so fruitful in speculation. 

'April, 1827. 
1 Amongst the many reflections which I have made upon the 
Millennium, there are two which occupy my mind very much. I 
thought of them the w T hole of one day ; one was founded upon this 
text — "And some of them of understanding shall fall, to try them, 
and to purge, and to make them white, even to the time of the end, 
because it is yet a time appointed." 4 Does not one shudder with 
horror in anticipating the fulfilment of this prophecy? Who can 
need purifying more than we do? Who can say that these words 
are not addressed to us? How dreadful to fall in that time when 
(he Saviour is about, to appear! to fall in the very moment when 
our song of triumph should begin ! to fall in the very midst of 
enemies, of persecutions, of infidelities, in that time when " the 
devil will have great wrath, because he knowetli that he will have 
but a short time" to trouble the faithful. 5 But I think that perhaps 
God has inspired me with this fear, that I may pray against so 

1 1 Sam. xxi. 9. 2 Ibid. xvii. 21 . 3 1 Cor ii. 5. 

4 Daniel xi. 35. 5 Rev. xii. 12. 

6 



82 MEMOIR OF MARY JANE GRAHAM. 

fatal an event ; and this is my reason for communicating- it to you. 
When I was almost overwhelmed with this reflection, these sweet 
words came to my heart, and made me think of you, — " Two are 
better than one." 1 Since in this instance the Scriptures and our 
hearts agree, I beseech you not to separate yourself from me. Let 
us love each other always, and pray for each other, that we may not 
fall. But if unhappily one of us should fall, may the other be ready 
to raise her up again. If I should fall either into the love of the 
world, or into infidelity, or into any other sin, do not give me up. 
Do not think I am a hypocrite. Think that it is to ''purify and to 
try me ;" and pray, that if you fall, I may act in the same way 
towards you, But in the midst of the thoughts which these sad 
ideas gave me, these words came for my encouragement, — " They 
that are with the Lamb are called, and chosen, and faithful.' 2 
You know how precious these words have been to me. But I now 
saw them in a new point of view. They appeared to me a plain 
promise introduced exactly at that time to console the saints under 
their difficulties, by assuring them that they will be a little troop, 
" called, chosen, and faithful," against whom no enemies will be 
able to prevail : that they will have a degree of faith proportioned 
to their sufferings and necessities. In short, in describing the 
character of this elect band, I wish to believe, that it describes what 
we shall be found, if we arrive at that period. If already we are 
" called and chosen." shall we not then be " faithful V Let us 
plead this promise. It speaks to me like a voice from heaven. It 
answers every fear, every uncertainty. Would God choose and 
call soldiers who would be unfaithful to him ? Will not our captain 
teach us to go follow him wherever he will have us go ? When I 
say to myself, 'Poor and feeble creature, what will you do in that 
time of distress and temptation? — faith, which cannot resist a 
single vain thought, how will you resist the united efforts of the 
world, the devil, and a wicked heart ?' Then I answer, ' Yes ; but 
has not God said, that the saints in that day shall be " faithful and 
chosen" by Himself, who cannot choose amiss? Rest upon his 
word ; if he sees that you are not fit to fight in the battle of that 
great day, He will not call you to it ; and if he call you to it, it is 
his part to give you the fidelity which will be so necessary.' 

Miss Graham's remarks on the subject of Prophecy will be in- 
teresting, and furnish occasion for some observations suited to the 
present time. Having insisted upon the importance of mathematical 
study in reference to the progress of infidelity, she applies the same 
train of reasoning to the excitement to the study of Prophecy, 
which she justly remarks to be one of the prominent characteristics 
of our day. 

' There is yet another subject,' she observes, ' which, though at 
present but partially considered, bids fair, ere long, to engross the 
attention of the Christian world, I allude to the study of prophecy. 

» Eccles. iv. 9, 10. 2 R ev . xvii. 14. 



MEMOIR OF MARY JANE GRAHAM. 83 

" Seek ye out of the book of the Lord, and read" — is the Divine 
command ; " no one of these shall fail, none shall want her mate." 1 
I am particularly led to advert to it in this place, because I have 
heard with inexpressible pleasure, that these inquiries have already 
been useful in thinning the ranks of infidelity. The inducements 
to this study are indeed greater than in any former age of the 
church. The coincidence between prophecy and its fulfilment is in 
these latter days grandly conspicuous. It is such, that " he who 
runs may read." 2 The winding up of the whole seems to be near 
at hand. The last prophecy must ere long, find "her mate," 3 in 
the last event of humanity. Prediction is almost swallowed up in 
accomplishment. 4 Happy are those, who with reason enlightened 
by a ray of divine intelligence, can trace the wonderful coincidence, 
which subsists between what God has foretold, and what he has 
done ; whose thoughts stretch forward in awful, yet fearless antici- 
pation of what God is about to do ! 

1 But to attempt any discussion of the views that are held upon 
this subject, would be foreign to the purpose of this little treatise. If 
we would enter fully into the prophetic writings, we must, like 
Daniel "set our faces unto the Lord God, to seek by prayer and sup- 
plication." 5 My object is to hint to the youthful student, who may 
probably be hereafter engaged in this most interesting contempla- 
tion, the extreme importance of having his imagination under the 
strictest discipline of reason. If ever the "spirit of a sound mind" 
was necessary, it is so in the investigation of the future prophecies. 
A more than mathematical accuracy of definition, of statement, 
and of argument, should be carried into all that is said or written 
upon this subject. When I consider the extraordinary spirit of in- 
quiry that is now beginning to spread ; when I think I perceive 
that these inquiries are not only justified by Scripture, but are them- 
selves a part of prophetic fulfilment ; and when I joyfully antici- 

1 Isaiah xxxiv. 16. 2 Hab. ii. 2. 

3 If this idea was intended to be the exposition — not the accommodation — of the text, 
it will generally be considered fanciful. A general rule is probably given to stimulate to 
the investigation of prophecy. But the context will readily supply the particular appli- 
cation of the case alluded to. Miss Graham's thought, however, is expressed by our 
great Christian philosopher, Lord Bacon, with his accustomed depth and clearness. Ex- 
pressing his wish that ' a History of Prophecy' might be given to the church, he adds his 
own view of what it should be. ' The history of prophecy,' he observes, ' consists of two 
relatives, the prophecy and the accomplishment. Hence the nature of the work requires, 
that throughout all ages of the world, every Scripture prophecy should be compared with 
the event, for the confirmation of the faith, and the wise instruction of the church, with 
regard to the interpretation of the prophecies, which yet remain unfulfilled. The latitude, 
however, must be allowed, which is agreeable to the Divine prophecies (of course Lord 
Bacon only refers to the several successive and connected parts of one prophetic system) 
not fulfilled at stated times, but in succession, according to the nature of their Author, 
to whom " one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day." They are 
not therefore fulfilled punctually at once ; but they have a growing accomplishment 
through many ages, though the height or fulness of them may refer to a single age or mo- 
ment.' Of the work itself, however, he wisely adds — Let it be treated with wisdom, so- 
briety, and reverence — or let alone. — Advancement of Learning, book ii. c. 2. 

4 Perhaps this expression will be considered to mark the glowing ardency of her feel- 
ings, rather than the discipline of her judgment. s Dan. ix. 3. 



84 MEMOIR OF MARY JANE GRAHAM. 

pate, that " many shall run to and fro" on this subject, "and knowl- 
edge shall be" wonderfully "increased ;" 1 it is at such times that I 
most deeply feel the importance of entreating the young Christian 
diligently to cultivate, in a spirit of prayer and faith, all those parts 
of education, which especially tend to impart soundness, penetra- 
tiveness and energy to his reasoning powers.' 

Whatever may be thought of the somewhat novel connection of 
prophecy with mathematical study, it would have been well for 
some of our modern interpreters to have disciplined their minds to 
the principles of this more severe science. Much crude and dog- 
matical statement would have been restrained, many painful ab- 
surdities would have been excluded, and much perplexities spared 
to the path of the sincere, but unfurnished inquirer. The prophetic 
study is indeed, as Miss Graham observes, one of the characteristics 
of our day. The church is at least partially awakened to a full 
and dutiful acknowledgment of her Lord's command, " Search the 
/Scriptures" 2 Indeed, apart from the authority of this express 
command, the universal " spirit of prophecy," as " the testimony of 
Jesus," 3 while it furnishes the true key of interpretation, gives it an 
imperative claim upon our attention and regard. The personal 
benefits of this study are such as richly to repay all the serious at- 
tention and humble prayers that may be devoted to it. A minute 
consideration of some of the most interesting parts of the sacred 
book, can scarcely fail of enriching the temperate and holy student 
with most valuable results. Added to which, the succession of 
events most deeply interesting and solemnly instructive, passing be- 
fore us through the medium of the daily press, strongly marks our 
immediate and individual concern in this scriptural research. 

Many Christians are unduly repelled by the difficulties and un- 
certainty, which confessedly belong to the subject. But " the pro- 
phets," though they could not understand, felt it their duty and 
privilege to "search." 4 "We have also the more sure word of pro- 
phecy," with the injunction that " we do well that we take heed to 
it," 5 and with a special and most encouraging promise to stimulate 
our investigation. 6 

The precise extent of the claim of this study must however be 
variously estimated. In all cases indeed, the consideration of ful- 
filled prophecy is a component of Christian evidence to our own 
minds, and will furnish the " answer, that we should be ready al- 
ways to give to every man that asketh us a reason of the hope that 
is in us, with meekness and fear." 7 The study of unfulfilled pro- 
phecy — if it be a general duty — is not in all cases the immediate 
duty. It must be subordinated to the primary concern of a personal 
interest m the Gospel. To a mind awakened to serious inquiry on 
its own state, yet but slightly tinctured with conviction, and imper- 
fectly directed to the Saviour, the presentment of the claims of 

1 Daniel xii. 4. 2 John v. 39. 3 R e v. xix. 10. 

4 1 Peter i. 11, 12. 5 2 Peter i. 19. 6 R e v. i. 3. 

7 1 Peter iii. 15. 



MEMOIR OF MARY JANE GRAHAM. 85 

unfulfilled prophecy for consideration is a most mischievous evil. 
The soul is diverted from the main object of contemplation and 
pursuit. Imagination is exercised instead of faith. A speculative 
taste is gratified in the place of the practical influence of the truths 
of the Gospel. This " ignorance of Satan's devices" enables him 
to get advantage — if not to the ruin of the soul — yet to the 
"corruption of the mind from the simplicity that is in Christ." 1 
And indeed under all circumstances, attention to prophecy must be 
regulated, in some degree at least, by the leisure, opportunities, and 
advantages severally belonging to us; not failing to pay due re- 
gard to Scriptural proportion, as well as to imperative obligation. 
That exclusive study, which occupies the place of Christ crucified 
in doctrine, and forms a substitute far the various exercises of ex- 
perimental and practical habits — is greatly to be deprecated. Be- 
sides the evils with the young inquirer just adverted to, it keeps 
out of sight many important subjects of obligation and interest 
included in the sacred canon. It has ministered to mere specula- 
tive curiosity and unhallowed presumption. It has originated many 
of the schisms now unhappily dividing the church, by the substitu- 
tion of "doubtful disputation" for substantial truth, greatly to the 
hindrance of Christian privilege, devotedness, and consistency. 

Admitting, however, the general importance of this study, the 
temper in which it is to be conducted is a matter of the first mo- 
ment. The instance of Daniel produced by Miss Graham, exhibits 
the finest speciemen of the Prophetic Interpreter or Student. Such 
diligence of research, in prostration of soul, accompanied with such 
sanctity, humility, faith, and perseverance, will, under the most un- 
favorable circumstances of external destitution, be honored of God. 
The exercise of these holy graces will form a safeguard against the 
delusive influence of human speculations, and will enable us to im- 
prove the results of divine teaching for the high purposes for which 
they were vouchsafed. The investigation of prophecy will thus be- 
come a cheering support to us in the anticipation of trials, and a 
quickening stimulus to the discharge of our immediate respon- 
sibilities. 

The warranted expectation, how T ever, of human help may prob- 
ably have been overrated. Though in this, more than in any 
other age, " many have run to and fro" — yet it may be doubted 
how far Miss Graham's hopes have been realized by an increase of 
" knowledge" 2 commensurate with the extent of research. The 
march of Christian intellect has been in most cases retarded by a 
defect of spiritual or intellectual qualifications. Some of the more 
elaborate and practised writers want that unction and spirituality, 
which evidence a mind divinely-instructed for this "search into the 
deep things of God ;" and this deficiency of the stamp of heavenly 
influence materially weakens our confidence in the results from 
their subsidiary intellectual advantages. Other writers of a more 

1 2 Corinthians ii. 11 ; xi. 3. 2 Daniel xii. 4. 






SO MEMOIR OF MARY JANE GRAHAM. 

decidedly evangelical school, are too sparingly furnished with those 
resources of erudition and intelligence, which doubtless were in- 
tended to reflect valuable, though subordinate, light upon the pro- 
phetic page. Some, again, of the same school, have taken up crude 
and undigested views — the result of imagination, impulse, or ex- 
citement, rather than of matured judgment and consideration ; 
while the dogmatism and self-sufficiency of others give no proof of 
divine suggestion, and offer no satisfaction to the inquiring mind. 
There is probably no accredited writer in the various prophetic 
schools who has not contributed his quantum in clearing up diffi- 
culties, and throwing light upon some department of the subject. 
Yet it may be doubted whether a connected and comprehensive 
scheme of the divine system has yet been satisfactorily developed : 
and in the different schemes that have been proposed, much Chris- 
tian discernment is required to separate in them what is solidly 
established, from what is unsubstantial and speculative. Human 
helps must therefore, under all circumstances, be subsidiary — not 
primary. God's book must ever maintain its own supreme place. 
The scattered rays reflected from different parts of its prophetic sys- 
tem (such as the comparison of the Books of Daniel and John) and 
centering in one point, will often furnish a strong and clear light for 
the direction and encouragement, of the Christian student. We 
feel therefore great confidence in recommending a Berean search 
of the Scripture as the ground-work of prophetic investigation ;* 
not omitting to avail ourselves of the industry and intelligence of 
accredited writers for the expansion of our views and the elucida- 
tion of our difficulties ; but at the same time exercising our judg- 
ment, in dependence upon our heavenly Teacher, again to com- 
pare the exposition of their systems with the light of the sacred 
book. In this process of inquiry, we are persuaded, that " the 
wise shall understand," (even though they be "wayfaring fools,"' 2 ) 
as far as is consistent with the divine will, and necessary for their 
duty and comfort; and for the rest they may well be content to 
wait for the full splendor of the light of the heavenly world. 

May the writer without presumption be allowed to suggest a few 
hints relative to the clear interpretation and profitable study of 
prophecy? 

1. Let the special need of Divine influence he primarily con- 
sidered. Far be it from the writer to underrate the intellectual 
qualifications. He is well aware of the treasures of erudition, that 
have been effectively applied to this most important subject. He 
would have the whole field of prophecy traversed with all the mind 
and research that can be brought to bear upon it. But he cannot 
forget that the teaching wisdom belongs to God ; and that it is the 
irradiation of his holy light, which can alone illumine the dark 
places in this to us uncertain track. 3 Let the interpreter duly 

1 Compare Acts xvii. II, 12. 2 Daniel xii. 10, with Isaiah xxxv. 8. 

3 It is worthy of remark, that Daniel's knowledge of unfulfilled prophecy is distinctly 
connected with the Spirit of prayer. Daniel ii. 16—23 ; ix. 20—27. 



MEMOIR OF MARY JANE GRAHAM. 87 

weigh his special and weighty responsibilities. How large a portion 
of the grace and " wisdom that is from above" does he need, to in- 
duce that waiting spirit so acceptable to God ; to restrain the rising 
of dogmatism, spiritual self-will and conceit ; to repress " private 
interpretations," so inconsistent with the comprehensiveness of 
Scripture prophecy : to guard against giving his own mind in the 
professed desire only to interpret the mind of God ; to take an en- 
tire view of the whole range of prophecy, instead of contracting his 
interest to a few favorite points ; to forbear with the decided views 
of his opponents ; readily to retract his indigested opinions, and to 
yield his prejudices to the influence of more correct and enlarged 
apprehensions ; and habitually to connect every view with the 
glory of his Saviour, and the extension of his kingdom ! These 
are confessedly responsibilities of no ordinary moment. They for- 
bid trifling with the subject, as if its clear light were revealed by 
some momentary inspiration ; they realize the urgent need of " the 
Spirit of wisdom and revelation" to " enlighten the eyes of his un- 
derstanding ;"' and they inculcate a habit of dependence, supplica- 
tion, seriousness, and that reverence which Lord Bacon so justly de- 
scribes as indispensable to the profitable consideration of the sub- 
ject. In the defect of this spirit, successive systems of prophecy 
have been ingeniously woven ; the interpreters " come together," 
and bring before the church their several hypotheses and conclu- 
sions ; and "every one," as at Corinth, "hath a doctrine, hath a 
tongue, hath a revelation, hath an interpretation." 2 It cannot be 
doubted, but this defect of Christian simplicity is one main cause of 
the indeterminate apprehension of the subject. Who does not see 
how needful is " singleness of eye," the gift of God, to reflect light 
upon the mind ; while an " evil eye," affected with some natural 
bias, leads us in the review of the results of human ingenuity to 
exclaim, u How great is this darkness ! " 3 

2. Let a forbearing spirit be inculcated in this research. The 
importance of this spirit in an intellectual view is sufficiently ob- 
vious, as a guard from the prevalent evils of self-conceit. Its influ- 
ence in every department of sacred truth — especially in the field 
of prophecy — is of yet higher moment. The writer's own studies 
in this field have brought him to the fixed conclusion — that many 
of the controverted points (those, for example, connected with our 
Lord's second Advent,) are embarrassed with difficulties on both 
sides, sufficient to preserve wise and humble men from dogmatizing 
on either part : and to excite mutual respect and forbearance, rather 
than what we are too often constrained to see — " brethren grudging 
one against another." 4 The event indeed is a doctrine of faith — 

1 Eph. i. 17, 18. 2 i Cor. xiv. 26. 

3 Matt. vi. 22, 23. It is a remarkable expression — " None of the wicked (using the 
term in the large scriptural sense) shall understand," Daniel xii. 10. The outward 
sources of information are open to them. But their pride wilfully excludes them from the 
direct inlets of Divine light. See Matthew xi. 25,20. 1 Corinthians ii. 14; iii, 18 — 20. 

^ James v. 9. Comp. Matt. xxiv. 48, 49. 



88 MEMOIR OF MARY JANE GRAHAM. 

absolutely certain. The time and circumstantials being imperfectly 
revealed, are matters of forbearance ; on which all, even the most 
sober, interpreters have been constrained in the course of investiga- 
tion, in some points of more or less moment, to retract, modify, or 
restate their views. Indeed, prophecy, according to the Scriptural 
definition, is "a light that shineth in a dark place,*' 1 yet not surely 
the light of " perfect day ;" and well would it be for us, if the con- 
fession of our ignorance would find vent in the Apostle's adoring 
contemplation — " How unsearchable are his judgments ! and his 
ways past finding out !" 2 We may indeed justly expect clearer 
light to dawn upon us, as the consummation of the grand events 
draws on. Meanwhile we must combine diligent study with cau- 
tious application. We must be content for the most part with the 
statement of general views and results. If the events are clear, the 
time, mode, and means of their accomplishment are often undefined. 
We are assured, that none of the Divine predictions can fall to the 
ground ; that the events contemplated in them are the fruit of the 
Lord's superintending love to his church, and that they will all 
issue in the final advancement of his own glory. In this recollec- 
tion it is most suitable to cultivate that truly Christian spirit of 
patient expectancy, which, in child-like humility, not in slumbering 
indolence, is content to leave to the Lord the unfolding of his own 
purposes. 

The Writer may be permitted to observe that the indeterminate 
fixing of dates to the several prophetic eras, offers large room for 
the exercise of this forbearing spirit. Prophets, with all their war- 
ranted confidence, were modest. They never spoke without a clear 
commission — u Thus saith the Lord." Interpreters of prophecy 
are not always so modest. The confident mode of calculation 
which is sometimes adopted, might lead us to suppose, not only that 
the several periods, but also that their commencing points, were, 
like Daniel's weeks, 3 absolutely revealed. To a few of the most 
important eras, indeed, dates, more or less probable, but not abso- 
lutely decisive, may be assigned ; but in periods of less moment, 
experience has fully shown how unsatisfactory all attempts to fix 
the precise periods of events have proved and are likely to prove. 
Our Lord, while he reproved listless indifference to " the signs of the 
times," 4 rebuked with no less decision this presumptuous interference 
with his sovereign prerogative. 5 " If ever/ — as Miss Graham ad- 
mirably observes — ' u the spirit of a sound mind" is necessary, it is 
so in the investigation of the future prophecies.' Wise and holy 
men of God will learn to speak with caution and reserve upon sub- 
jects obscurely revealed. General views are sufficient for the ground 
and encouragement of faith. And the cloud that still covers this 
mystic history of futurity, abundantly show T s, that the end of proph- 
ecy w T as not to make us prophets — but to " set us upon our watch- 

i 2 Peter, i. 19. 2 R om . xi. 33. 3 Daniel ix. 24—27. 

* Matt. xvi. 3. 5 Acts i. 7. 



MEMOIR OF MARY JANE GRAHAM. 89 

towers," 1 as diligent and humble inquirers, seeking to "have under- 
standing of the signs of the times, that we might know what Israel 
ought to do," 2 and to expect. 

Indeed, this designed darkness subserves various and important 
uses. It furnishes a needful and wholesome check upon human 
speculation. Had the Great Author of prophecy intended it as the 
rule of life, he would doubtless have written it with a sunbeam. In 
its present mode and character of revelation it is however admirably 
suited — not indeed to indulge unwarrantable curiosity, but to ex- 
ercise our faith, to call forth our Christian graces, to enliven our 
hopes, to quicken our anticipation of the ultimate triumph of the 
kingdom of Christ ; and meanwhile, that we should mark with so- 
berness the gradual development of progress towards this glorious 
consummation. It is far more profitable — instead of making a 
framework for ourselves — to be looking in the Lord's best time for 
that clear reflection of light in the fulfilment of prophecy, which 
will awe even the most inconsiderate to conviction. — " This is the 
finger of God. What hath God wrought !" 3 

3. Let the subject be ever considered as a 'practical study. It 
is a sign of an unhealthy, excired temperament, if the prophetic 
parts of Scripture be more interesting than the preceptive — that is — 
if we are more conversant with matters of uncertain interpretation, 
than with the subjects thai, relate to our immediate duty. If the 
prophetic study be dissociated from its practical character and con- 
sequences, our prepossessed fancy is far more likely to give the in- 
terpretation than the Divine Spirit. The blessing belongs to those 
that "keep the things that are written in the words of this proph- 
ecy." 4 The fruit of Daniel's research was that which is most spe- 
cially needed at the present eventful moment — intercession for the 
Church and for the land. 5 Habakkuk went to his watch-tower — 
not to speculate hi idle curiosity, but as we have before hinted, to 
be in readiness to hear the valuable lessons of reproof and instruc- 
tion that were designed for him. 6 Supposing that the period of 
accomplishment is far distant, yet there is a large preparatory work 
of prayer, exertion, and Christian devotedness, urgently pressing 

i Hab. ii. i. 

2 1 Chron. xii. 32. One of the most profound and sober expositors of prophecy well 
deserves to be heard on this point. 'The folly of interpreters,' observes Sir Isaac New- 
ton, ' has been to foretell times and things by the prophecy of the Revelation, as if God 
designed to make them prophets. By this rashness they have not only exposed them- 
selves, but brought the prophecy also into contempt. The design of God, when he gave 
them this, and the pi'ophecies of the Old Testament, was, not to gratify men's curiosity 
by enabling them to foreknow things ; but to the end that, after, they were fulfilled, they 
might be interpreted by the event; and his own providence, not the wisdom and skill of 
the interpreters, be thus manifested thereby to the world.' Bishop Hurd also well re- 
marks to the same point, that ' the declared end of prophecy is, not that we may be ena- 
bled by it to foresee things before they come to pass; but that when they come to pass, 
we may acknowledge the divine Author of the prophecy.' (Serm. VIII.) 'Even the 
pophecies of Christ,' as the same author observes. (Serm. V.) 'could not give full con- 
viction till the time oftheir accomplishment had arrived. 

3 Exodus viii. 19. Numbers xxiii. 23. 4 Bev. i. 3. 
s Daniel ix. 2, 3, 16— 19. « Hab. ii. 1. 



90 MEMOIR OF MARY JANE GRAHAM. 

upon us. And far better shall we be employed in girding ourselves 
to the discharge of the practical obligations of prophecy, than in 
minutely tracing out the conjectured period and mode of its fulfil- 
ment, and in attempting to narrow its wide and comprehensive 
sphere by uncertain application to the little particularities of our 
own time and place. Is there no danger, while fixing the dates, 
and describing the circumstantials of the grand coming events — lest 
we forget that every page of prophecy is a direct personal revelation 
to our own souls, and lest we too slightly regard those clearest pre- 
dictions of the sacred page — the promises of God to his people, and 
his threatenings to the unbelieving world ? May not even the com- 
prehensive rule of "seeking first the kingdom of God," in "right- 
eousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost," be sometimes unhap- 
pily subordinated to the. absorbing interest awakened by the glow- 
ing prospects of the Millennial reign l l 

How much has been lost to the church by a speculative contem- 
plation of the prophetic view of the doctrine of our Lord's second ad- 
vent ! If, instead of filling up the outlines more from the resources 
of imagination than from the substance of Scripture, the faith of 
the church had been singly fixed upon the glory of this consum- 
mating event, and intensely exercised in the glow of expectancy, 
how different would have been her aspect at the present moment ! 
What a bond of union would have subsisted among her members f 
What an atmosphere of love would have pervaded her territory ! 
What a spring of holy consecration would have been in extended 
activity ! It ill becomes servants, looking for the return of their ab- 
sent lord, to spend themselves in discussing the mode and circum- 
stantials of his coming, when they might be far more suitably em- 
ployed in preparing the house for his reception, and in readiness to 
give an immediate answer to his welcome knock ! 2 

The obscurity that hangs over the precise period of our Lord's 
coming is indeed a most wise and gracious dispensation, to in- 
vigorate the church in every age with the high privilege and obli- 
gation of looking for this triumphant crisis. Whatever views there- 
fore tend merely to captivate the imagination, to gratify curiosity, 
and thus to divert the attention from the present duties connected 
with this anticipation — these must be regarded as the unscripturai 
delusions of man's conceit. This spirit of constant expectancy may 
be considered as the perfecting feature of the Christian character. 3 
It concentrates all the practical and animating exercises of the 
Gospel. What an encouragement does it supply to the assurance 
of faith ! 4 What a stimulus to activity, 5 devotedness, 6 abounding 
love, 7 heavenly conversation, 8 sobriety of spirit, 9 readiness of habit, 10 

1 Matt. vi. 38. Romans xiv. 17, with Luke xvii. 21. 2 Luke xii. 35, 36. 

3 See I Cor. i. 7. 4 Heb. x. 37, 38. 

s Matthew xxv. 35—40. Luke xix. 13—26. 2 Peter i. 5—1 1 . 
6 Rev. xvi. 15 ; xxii. 7. 7 1 Thess. iii. 12, 13. Compare James v. 9. 

8 Phil. iii. 20, 21. 2 Peter iii. 11— 14. 

9 Luke xxi. 34. Phil. iv. 5. 1 Thess. v. 1—8. 1 Peter i. 13; iv. 7. 

io Luke xii. 35—40. 



MEMOIR OF MARY JANE GRAHAM. 91 

and watchful preparation for eternity I 1 What support does it 
furnish in the hour of trial, whether from the immediate visitations 
of God, 2 or the persecuting enmity of man ! 3 What materials does 
it give for personal edification, 4 compassionate labors for the uncon- 
verted, 5 and mutual exhortation 6 and comfort 7 in the church of 
God ! How cheering is the prospect which it holds out of complete 
transformation into the image of our beloved Lord ! 8 What pa- 
tient hope 9 and joyful anticipation 10 does it bring into the waiting 
soul! So eminently practical — so richly consolatory — is the be- 
lieving and habitual contemplation of the coming of our Lord ! In- 
deed when we realize the hope of body and soul at this blissful era 
being equal participants of the eternal redemption 11 — the happiness 
of every member of the body consummated in the complete glorifi- 
cation of the whole body — and the church, "filled with all the 
fulness of God," presenting to the universe the entire " fulness of 
Him that fillet h all in all" 12 — we may well conceive, that never 
was an event so joyful known on earth since the fall of man. We 
wonder not that " the whole creation," now "groaning and travail- 
ing together in pain" under the ruins of sin, should then be awak- 
ened to joyful exultation in its " deliverance from the bondage of 
corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God." 13 

This scriptural privilege of expectancy was however inculcated 
upon the church, while the event which it contemplated could only 
be seen through the long vista of some thousand years. It was in- 
tended therefore, not necessarily to imply the approach of the grand 
crisis, 14 but to mark the habit of mind with which it should be 
awaited. The delineation of this habit which has just been given, 
evidently includes all the essential principles of sanctification and 
of happiness. We cannot therefore but see sufficient reason for the 
large space which the event occupies in the enforcement of Chris- 
tian obligation, and the prospects of Christian hope. Our divine 
Saviour is brought eternally near to his people. 15 His perfect like- 
ness is the immediate consequence of his vision. 16 His glory is their 
everlasting joy. 17 

It is painful to reflect, that a speculative study of prophecy should 
have so materially injured the influence of those prospects of the 
church upon her present duties and privileges. The minute de- 
scriptive details, that have been sometimes connected with the 
coming of Christ in his kingdom (not to speak of their doubt- 
ful scriptural authority, and their closer alliance to earth than 

1 Matt. xxiv. 42; xxv. 13. Luke xxi. 36. 1 Thess. v. 9—18. Rev. xvi. 15. 

2 1 Thess. iv. 13. 3 2 Thess. i. 6—10. * Jude 14, 15, with 20, 21. 
5 Ibid, with 22, 23. « Heb. x. 25. ? 1 Thess. iv. 16— 18; v. 8— 11. 
s Phil. i. 6; iii. 21. 1 Thess. v. 23, 24. 1 John iii. 2. 

s 2 Thess. iii. 5. James v. 7, 8. 

10 Isaiah xxv. 9; xxvi. 19. Luke xxi 28. Rom. xii. 11. Titus ii. 13. 
ii Romans viii. 23. Phil. iii. 21. 12 Eph. iii. 19 ; i. 23. 

13 Psalm xcvi. 11—13; xcviii. 5—9. Rom. viii. 21, 22 

li See the mistake on this point corrected in the Thessalonian church, 2 Thess. ii. 1 — 2. 
is Rev. iii. 12; vii. 15—17. ls 1 John iii. 2. 

W Matthew xxv. 21 . John xvii. 24. Rev. iii. 21. 



92 MEMOIR OF MARV JANE GRAHAM. 

to heaven) have a strong tendency to repress a spiritual contem- 
plation of this great event. 1 Even the details given in the pro- 
phetic books are much under the veil. Interpreters expound them 
according to the principles of their different systems : and after all 
their diligence and labor, much is left unexplained, or resting upon 
conjectural support. In these things the writer is content to " walk 
by faith, not by sight." 2 All that is necessary is revealed. We 
shall be as happy as God can make us. As to any precise knowl- 
edge, " it doth not yet appear what we shall be." 3 And such 
knowledge we want not. It exhibits a far more enlarged ex- 
pectancy to be assured, that it will be something that we neither 
know nor can know — interminable bliss without sin, and with 
Christ. Our happiness centres in the certainty and glory, not in 
the circumstantials, of the event. And surely the " shaking of 
earth and heaven," 4 which seems to be at hand, will quicken the 
cry for our expected Lord — 'Come quickly, take to thyself the king- 
dom, and reign with all thy saints.' The waiting Christian, in 
these times of special trial of the church, "lifts up his head" full 
of joy and expectation. 5 Faith overcomes the tremendous thought 
of wrath and judgment, as the harbingers of his coming; 6 and 
still the cry is re-echoed to the solemn declaration — ' ; Surely I 
come quickly ; Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus." 7 

III. — ON CHRISTIAN EXPERIENCE AND PRACTICAL RELIGION. 

Miss Graham's correspondence, flowing in an easy and natural 
strain, will be generally interesting. Even where no striking fea- 
tures are visible, an affectionate earnestness, tender sympathy, and 
a direct application of the first principles of the Gospel to the several 
cases of her friends cannot fail of being observed. 

The following letter appears to have been written to a friend, 
newly awakened to concern for her eternal interests. 

' November, 1826. 
' I fancy that you have for some time past felt a conviction, that 
religion is something more than you used to think it, more than the 
world in general seem to think it. But yet perhaps, you do not see 

1 Bishop Hall's beautiful meditations were not less suited to our day than to his — 'O 
blessed Saviour, what a strange variety of conceits do I find concerning thy thousand 
years' reign! What riddles are there in that prophecy, which no human tongue can 
read ! Where fix to the beginning of that marvellous millennary, and where the end, 
and what manner of reign it shall be, whether temporal or spiritual, on earth or in hea- 
ven, undergoes as many constructions as there are pens that have undertaken it. How 
busy are the tongues of men ! How are their brains taken up with the endless construc- 
tion of this enigmatical truth, when in the mean time the care of the spiritual reign in 
their hearts is neglected. O my Saviour, while others weary themselves with this dis- 
quisition of thy personal reign upon earth for a thousand years — let it be the whole bent 
and study of my soul, to make sure of my personal reign with thee in heaven to all eter- 
niy. 

2 2 Cor. v. 7. 3 1 John iii. 2. 4 Heb. xii. 26, 27. 
5 See Luke xxi. 28. 6 2 Thess. i. 8. Rev. i. 7. "> Rev. xxii. 20. 









MEMOIR OF MARY JANE GRAHAM. 93 

very clearly, what more it is that religion requires of you. You 
see that there is nothing in this vain world capable of satisfying the 
desires of your immortal spirit ; but you do not clearly comprehend 
what there is in religion to satisfy all our desires. You seek the 
Lord; but you do not yet feel as if you had found Him. You 
probably spend much time in reading the Scriptures ; but sometimes 
they seem obscure and unintelligible, sometimes' dry and uninter- 
esting. You often pray; but do not always find either comfort or 
delight in prayer. Sometimes you feel as if you could give up 
every earthly enjoyment for one glimpse of that " love of Christ 
which passeth knowledge ;" and at other times it seems to you very 
foolish and unreasonable to pretend to more religion than other 
people. This is what many feel who are beginning to be very 
anxious about religion. I cannot help indulging a strong hope, 
that you will soon find in the love of Jesus all that you want to 
make you happy ; only let me beg of you to seek Kim simply, 
under the conviction that we can neither do nor think anything 
good without Him ; that " every thought is evil, only evil, and that 
continually j" 1 and that, while we continue in this state, we cannot 
understand the things of the Spirit of God, because they will appear 
" foolishness to us. ' 2 The change which every person must un- 
dergo, before they can truly receive Christ as their Saviour, is 
described in terms no less striking — " Ye must be born again." 3 
"If any man be in Christ Jesus, he is a new creature ; old things 
are passed away ; behold ! all things are become new !" 4 In other 
parts it is described as a change from death unto life, " from dark- 
ness to light, from the power of Satan to God." 5 But i will not 
multiply instances. Surely such a change as this cannot be the 
cold, wordly, heartless religion, with which the generality of people 
sit down satisfied ! Surely it is a change we have no power to 
make in ourselves. When God "breathed into man's nostrils the 
breath of life," it was a wonderful act of his creating power. 6 But 
when he breathes spiritual life into the soul of one « dead in tres- 
passes and sins," this seems more wonderful ; and yet this is what 
we vainly think we can do ourselves. But if we can once be con- 
vinced, that we are so utterly worthless and sinful, that none but 
Christ can save us, then we shall go to Him for everything. If we 
want repentance, wisdom, holiness, salvation, all these are His to 
give ; He promises to give them to every one that asks Him. O be 
much in prayer to this precious Saviour ! He has declared, that 
none shall seek him in vain. Those who leave trusting off in 
themselves, and cling with a single and undivided heart to the cross 
of Christ, and "count everything else but loss, so they may win 
Christ and be found in Him" 7 — what words can describe their 
blessedness ! How true it is, that those who seek happiness in any- 

1 Gen. vi. 5. 21 Cor. ii. 14. 3 John iii. 7. 

* 2 Cor. v. 17. 5 Acts xxvi. 18. 6 Gen. ii. 7. 

1 Phil. iii. 7—9. 



94 MEMOIR OF MARY JANE GRAHAM. 

thing except Christ Jesus, are M hewing out to themselves broken 
cisterns that can hold no water !" Come then, my most dearly- 
loved friend, come with me to "the fountain of living waters" — 
come to Him who has said — " If any man thirst, let him come to 
me, and drink'* 1 — as if he had said — ■* If there be any poor sinner, 
who has begun to find out that the pleasures of this world cannot 
quench his thirst after happiness, if he long for something less vain 
and empty and unsatisfying, let him come unto me.' Do you 
desire to give yourself to Christ, to make Him your all in all? 
Then let not any fears or misgivings keep you away from Him. for 
He " waits to be gracious" to you.. Your sins need not keep you 
away ; for He came to call sinners. He calls Himself the friend of 
sinners : and indeed, till you are taught by his Spirit, how exceed- 
ingly sinful you are, you cannot prize Him as you ought. Let me 
entreat you often to dwell on the '-'precious promises" of Scripture. 
Remember, that " in Him all the promises are yea and amen ; and 
if we plead in his name for their fulfilment, the truth and faithful- 
ness of God who cannot lie stand engaged to perform them for us. 
There is one in particular which seems to me full of encouragement ; 
it describes so fully the state of heart we want, and promises to 
give what it describes to those who inquire of the Lord. See Ezek. 
xxxvi. 25 — 37.' . 

The next letter is of a later date, and implies a more distinct 
advance of Christian knowledge in her friend. 

' Let me use the privilege of friendship, and entreat you to look 
less at the dark side of your prospects, and more at the unspeakable 
mercies with which God has favored you ; particularly that he has 
given you the greatest blessing he has to give, in calling you to 
become his reconciled child by faith in Christ Jesus. And having 
given you an interest in his Son, "shall he not with him freely give 
you all things ?" 2 — all things that are good for you, my dear friend. 
If therefore your wishes are not satisfied, it must be, because it is 
not for your good to satisfy them. Your lot has been chosen out 
for you by one, who is infinitely wise and kind, as the very best for 
your present and eternal happiness, and " He doeth all things well." 
You will ultimately find peace in religion ; I am sure you will ; 
and in the meantime is it not a blessing that you are not permitted 
to take up your rest here, and find the false destroying peace, which 
so many experience in wordly enjoyments? What if you were to 
ask God in Christ's name for the fulfilment of such a promise as 
this — ■" Behold, I will bring in health and cure, and I will heal him, 
and will reveal unto him the abundance of peace and of truth" 3 — 
would he deny you? Considering that no promise of scripture "is 
of private interpretation" — not meant for one part of the church, or 
one age of it, but for the whole flock of Christ ?iow, and every 
member of it, and therefore for you — considering too, " that all the 
promises of God are yea and amen to us in Christ Jesus :" 4 and 

Uohnvii. 37. 2 Romans viii. 32. 3 Jer. xxxiii. 6. * 2 Cor. i. 20. 




MEMOIR OF MARY JANE GRAHAM. 95 

that Christ himself has said — " If ye shall ask anything in my 
name, / will give it you" 1 — what encouragement have we to 
take these promises to God in prayer, to wrestle with him, and 
declare with holy confidence — "I will not let thee go, except thou 
bless me !" 2 Oh ! he would bless you ; and his " blessing maketh 
rich, and he addeih no sorrow with it" 3 My dear friend, you 
must come to God thus, and " give him no rest," till he grant you 
the promised biessing. You must not take a denial. May the 
Spirit of prayer be abundantly poured out upon you ! It is our 
privilege to take our sins and sorrows, and cast them upon Christ ; 
he has already borne their agonizing weight ; why should we groan 
under them ? " Cast thy burden upon the Lord." Would that I 
could act as I advise ! But I fall very, very far short. Even my 
desires after this state of mind are miserably faint and cold ; but let 
us both take comfort in the reflection, that we are accepted in 
Christ ; "complete in him ;" 4 beloved, not for our deservings, but 
for his f and his are " the same yesterday, to-day, and forever." 
When we fail, Christ remains the same ; and it is for the sake of 
what he has done, that God will accept us ; not for anything we 
can do ; or we might indeed go mourning all the day long.' 

These letters mark the general tone of Miss Graham's correspon- 
dence, in affectionate counsel and Scriptural encouragement. The 
case to which they primarily refer is among the most difficult and deli- 
cate within the compass of Christian instruction. No service is more 
valuable to the sincere but intelligent inquirer, than to enter into 
his case with tenderness, forbearance, and anxious consideration of 
his difficulties. Yague and ill-defined directions throw but little 
light upon his path. Even the primary and immediate counsel, 
guiding him to the Saviour of sinners, needs a present and partic- 
ular application to his individual state. His difficulties will, indeed, 
vary according to his simplicity, sincerity, and earnestness. But, 
under all circumstances, the instant duty of believing in Christ 
must be inculcated. No deficiency of spiritual apprehensions must 
be allowed to hinder immediate attention " to this work of God." 6 

1 John xiv. 14. 2 Gen. xxxii. 25. 3 p rov . x. 22. 

4 Colossians ii. 10. 5 Ephesians i. 6. 

6 John vi. 28, 29. This instant duty of believing is however questioned by some ofour 
modern religionists — either as seeming to imply a natural power to believe, or as incon- 
sistent with the manifest inability to believe without a Divine principle. But our Lord 
inculcated the duty upon the unbelieving multitude, in this passage, in answer to their 
professed inquiry upon the subject of duty. He subsequently enforced it upon the same 
class of hearers (John xii. 36, with 37 — 40.) Besides, as sin is the neglect or resistance 
of obligation, if faith be not the duty of the unconverted, unbelief is not their sin — conse- 
quently — not what the Gospel repeatedly declares it to be — the primary ground of their 
condemnation (John hi. 18, 19; xii. 48; xvi. 8, 9; 2 Thessalonians ii. 10, 11.) This sys- 
tem of measuring duty by ability, and of admitting inability to cancel obligation, equally 
annuls every exercise of love and obedience, by which man is connected with his God, 
but for which he is no less incapacitated, than for the spiritual habit of faith. It argues 
also a forgetfulness of the justice of the Divine requirements, and of the responsibility of 
that sinful inclination, which constitutes the principle of his impotency to comply with 
them. The commission of the Gospel is an universal call both to repentance and faith. 
(Mark i. 15; xvi. 15, 16; Acts xvii. 30.) The cross of Christ is held up to the whole 
world. (Isaiah xlv. 22.) The Holy Spirit employs its awakening and attractive infiu- 






& 



96 MEMOIR OF MARY JANE GRAHAM. 



The Gospel was not intended to answer the question — u What 
shall I do, that I may inherit eternal life?" 1 But it affords a 
satisfactory reply to a question more nearly interesting to the con- 
dition of a sinner—" How can man be just with God ?'' 2 It opens, 
by the instrumentality of faith, a free, immediate, universally ac- 
cessible way to favorable acceptance with our offended God. No 
perplexing course of preparatory discipline is required. All are in- 
vited without limitation, without delay. Infinite mercy and grace 
are provided for infinite need. Only those that feel will ask ; and 
all that ask shall have. Thus a sense of sin is the prerequisite, 
without which no man will come (for u the whole need not the 
physician" 3 ) ; but it is no part of the warrant to come. The Scrip- 
ture has nowhere prescribed any uniform rule, or measured out the 
precise extent of necessary conviction. All constitutions are not 
formed alike ; and therefore pungency is no certain proof of sin- 
cerity. Many are brought without a process of painful exercise to 
a simple and clear reception of the truth. 

The soul is as welcome to Christ at the first moment of invita- 
tion as at any successive period ; and protracted conflict manifests 
only the stubborn power of unbelief — a sin, which the spirit of God 
will not fail to apply as matter of humiliating conviction. 4 To in- 
sist therefore upon a determined measure or intensity of well-de- 
fined conviction as a preparation to faith, is an infringement upon 
the freeness and simplicity of the Gospel. The law also, as the in- 
strument to produce this conviction, 5 must be used in immediate 
connection with Christ. He is the life ; and if he be not set forth 
at the commencement, there will be only the temporary and un- 
satisfactory change from a state of indifference to a state of bond- 
age, without any effective principle of holiness or of privilege ; and 
the man will be satisfied without that entire simplicity of faith and 
self-dedication so indispensable to salvation. Even in the ex- 
hibition of Christ, the mind of the inquirer must be diverted from a 
too minute and anxious analysis of its own exercises of faith to a 
fixed contemplation of the glorious Person presented to view. The 
emphasis of the invitation is, " Look — Come unto me." 6 The first 
sensation of rest will be connected not with a precise knowledge of 
our own feelings, but with an entire dependence upon the work of 
Christ. Though self-examination is intimately connected with the 
prosperity and advance of the Christian life ; yet it must never be 
employed to originate our peace and hope in the Gospel ; but to as- 
certain the reality of our hope ; to detect false confidence and back- 
sliding ; to bring to us the warranted enjoyment of " the testimony 
of our consciences," in regard to the consistency of our profession ; 7 

ence as the means of quickening sinners to life. (John xii. 32.) Thus the grace of God 
is glorified, while the wilful unbelief of man alone excludes him from the free justifica- 
tion of the Gospel, and consequently leaves him without excuse. 

1 Mark x. 17. 2 Job ix. 2. 3 Matthew ix. 12. 

i See John xvi. 8, 9. 

5 See Rom. iii. 20; vii. 7. Galatians hi. 24. Compare Matthew xix. 17 — 20. 

6 Isaiah xlv. 22. Matt. xi. 28. < See 2 Cor. i. 12. 



MEMOIR OF MARY JANE GRAHAM. 97 

and to mark our progress in knowledge, experience, and practical 
devoted ness. One further point connected with the case of the in- 
quirer is of indispensable moment. He may beassured, that there 
is no indefinitely future period — no "day of the Lord's power" 
more favorable for his acceptance than the present ; and that no 
deficiency of knowledge can acquit him of the obligation of an in- 
stant surrender of himself to God. This very moment the Lord 
demands his unreserved faith, and his whole heart ; and every 
delay brings a fresh charge of guilty widens the distance, and 
increases the difjicidty. 

The following letter, written about two months before her death, 
gives an interesting view of her own search after truth, and marks 
a discriminating apprehension of the Gospel. 

' Stoke Fleming, Oct 1830. 
C I am grieved that you should for a moment imagine that I think 

our dear must be lost, because she does not subscribe to the 

doctrines of Calvin. I do not myself so much as know what all 
Calvin's doctrines are, or whether I should subscribe to them my- 
self. 1 have read one book of Calvin's, many parts of which pleased 
me much ; I mean his Institutes, which Bishop Horsley says ought 
to be in every clergyman's library. Further than this I know no- 
thing of Calvin, or his opinions. I certainly did not form one sin- 
gle opinion from his book, for I had formed all my opinions long 
before from the Bible. 1 You may remember my telling you that 
some years ago I declined greatly, almost entirely (inwardly) from 
the ways of God, and in my breast was an infidel, a disbeliever in 
the truths of the Bible. When the Lord brought me out of that 
dreadful state, and established my faith in his word, I determined 
to take that word alone for my guide. I read nothing else for be- 
tween three and four months, and the Lord helped me to pray over 
every word that I read. At that time, and from that reading, all 
my religious opinions were formed, and I have not changed one of 
them since. I knew nothing then of Calvin. I have said so 

much, dear . because I think it a very wicked thing to do, as 

you seem to think I do, to call Calvin or any man " master on 
earth," or to make any human writer our guide in spiritual things. 
Christ only should be our master, and his word our guide, and his 
Spirit our teacher ; and that Holy Spirit will be given to us if we 
ask for it. But I suppose by the doctrines of Calvin you meant 
the doctrine of predestination, which Calvin, in common with many 
other of God's saints, believed and preached. My belief and settled 
opinion about predestination, you will find expressed more clearly 
than any words of mine can do, in John vi. 37, 39, 65. Rom. viii. 
28—30. Rom.ix. Eph. i. 3— 6. 11. 2 Thess. ii. 13, 14. 2Tim.i. 
9, 10. Titus i. 1, 2. 1 Peter i. 2—5. 1 John iv. 19. Rev. xvii. 8. 
John xv. 16. I also join in every word of the 17th Article of our 

1 See chap. ii. 






98 MEMOIR OF MARY JANE GRAHAM. 

church ; so much so, that if asked my opinion about predestination, 
I should give it in those very words, from the impossibility of find- 
ing any others, which in so short a space expressed my meaning so 
well. But as this article is only of human authority, I should 
therefore bring forward the proof from the Scriptures of that God 
who cannot lie. I have just given you a few texts as they struck 
me. They are, I believe, enough for my present purpose : but de- 
tached texts lose much of their power : it is the whole sense of the 
whole Bible that should determine us ; and since " the natural man 
receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God, (for they are foolish- 
ness to him)," let us pray to become spiritual, " that we may know 
the things that are freely given us of God." 1 The above texts will 
give you an idea of my opinion. Indeed some of them are exceed- 
ingly plain and strong, and full, in their account of the doctrine. 
I endeavor to receive them as a little child, in their plain literal 
meaning. 

w But to return to our dear ; I think the doctrine of elec- 
tion essential to the comfort and consistency of our walk with 
God ; because 1 deem it essential to receive the whole Bible, and 
every truth contained in every part of the Bible, without partiality 
or gainsaying. But I do not consider a belief in the doctrine es- 
sentially necessary to salvation. I do consider a simple trust in 
the atonement and righteousness of Jesus Christ as absolutely 

necessary to salvation. If then, dearest , your beloved friend 

and mine too (for I do most sincerely love her), possesses this sim- 
ple reliance on the death and obedience of Christ for salvation, 
doubt not that she will be saved ; though she may not yet have 
been able to receive those high and humbling doctrines which very 
few Christians do receive in the commencement of their course, 2 
and which some cannot to the very end thoroughly embrace. 
Many, however, I think embrace the actual doctrine, though they 
cannot, bear the words predestination, election, &c. : a strange dis- 
like, since both words happen to be taken from Scripture. My be- 
loved would have been quite distressed, had I supported the 

doctrine of predestination in my conversations with her under the 
name of predestination ; and yet we often conversed on the thing 
itself, and subjects connected with it ; nor did I find her ideas dif- 
fer greatly from mine. " Other foundation can no man lay than is 
laid, Jesus Christ." All who are built on this foundation, who are 
thus founded on the Rock of Ages, must be secure. ''Believe on 
the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved." Acts. xvi. 31, &c. 
* He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life ; and he that 

1 1 Cor. ii. 14 with 12. 
2 In the early stage of her own course this holy doctrine had excited much repugnance, 
though she was afterwards enabled to receive it with a most simple and child like faith, 
and to set it forth (as we have before remarked) with a clearness of statement and power 
of argument, that marked the richness and maturity of her theological views. (See her 
Freeness of Divine Grace, referred to at p. 55.) She observes to her cousin the stimulus 
and support which she had received from this doctrine in seasons of distressing deadness 
in her spiritual apprehensions. 



EMOIR OF MARY JANE GRAHAM. 99 

believeth not the Son, shall not see life ; but the wrath of God 
abideth on him!''' John Hi. 36. See also John iii. 15, 16, 18 ; v. 24 ; 
vi. 40, 47 ; xi. 25, 26, &c.' 

The two next letters are of the class of those which were formerly 
adduced in illustration of her clear apprehensions of scriptural truth. 
The first letter introduces some incidental notices of interest. It 
seems to have been written to the correspondent whom she had 
formerly addressed on the subject of Christian study. 

' Stoke Fleming, Jan. 4, 1827. 
'My own dear Friend, 

'Every letter I receive from you gives me fresh cause of thank- 
fulness, and increases my hope, that you have learnt of Him who 
teacheth, and will certainly never leave you till he has given. you 
that "joy and peace in believing," which all His children sooner or 
later experience. I trust that the love of my God to you will be a 
constant source of thanksgiving and self-abasement to me : for oh ! 
what thanks can I render to Him. for the love with which he is now 
calling you out of the kingdom of darkness into the kingdom of 
His dear Son? And how can I ever be sufficiently humbled, when 
I reflect how unfaithfully and inconsistently I have acted towards 
5^011 ? One instance in particular is now fresh in my memory. 
You once asked me to write to you ; and I put it off from day to 
day, till at last I wickedly persuaded myself that I could not do it 
at all. I hope you will forgive this cruel neglect, "as God for 
Christ's sake has forgiven you ;" and that we shall be enabled 
henceforth, to love and help one another in His strength, and for 
His sake. 

'Dear , how can you say that I am your dearest friend, and 

only comforter? I glory in the thought, that you have a friend, 
whose love is stronger than death, and a Comforter, who is able to 
make you rejoice with joy unspeakable ; and to whose blessing and 
influence we must refer it, that such poor helpless and sinful crea- 
tures as we are, can ever be of the slightest use in helping or com- 
forting each other. I know you long to call Jesus your Friend, 
and the Holy Spirit your Comforter ; and where does this longing 
come from ? Not surely from your own evil heart ; for from that 
corrupt source can proceed nothing but hatred or indifference to 
God and His ways. Besides, it is a feeling you once knew nothing 
of. Believe me — rather believe the Scriptures when they say — that 
every desire of the soul after God is inspired by Himself, and is the 
fruit of His own free love in Christ Jesus — " I have loved thee with 
an everlasting love; therefore with loving kindness have I drawn 
thee." " Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you." " No 
man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw 
him." "All that the Father giveth me shall come to me ; and him 
that cometh to me ; 1 will in no wise cast out." 1 Now, do you not 

1 Jer. xxxi. 3; John xv. 16; vi. 44, 37. 



100 MEMOIR OP MARY JANE GRAHAM. 

feel yourself drawn towards God ? Does not your heart sometimes 
choose Christ in preference to every earthly blessing 7 Do you not 
come to Christ in prayer, beseeching Him to receive you ? And do 
not the texts I have mentioned, with a thousand others of the same 
import, warrant the inference — that you " come" to Christ, because 
the Father hath given you to Christ, and draws you to him ; that 
He " draws you with loving-kindness, because he has loved you 
with an everlasting love ;" and finally, that He will " never cast 
you out ?" My dear friend, I would not, indeed I would not, flatter 
you with a false, hope. I know of nothing so melancholy as the 
way in which the world say — " Peace, peace ; to themselves, when 
there is no peace" 1 — no rational ground of hope. But the hope of 
a soul convinced of sin, renouncing all trust in its own righteousness, 
and .casting itself on the mercy of Jesus, cannot be a vain or pre- 
sumptuous hope ; because it is founded on the word of God. You 
say, you feel so wicked and so worthless, that you dare not hope. 
Now till you felt yourself to be both exceedingly wicked and worth- 
less, you could not be a fit object of Christ's grace, who says, "They 
that be whole need not a physician, but they that are sick. I came 
not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance." 2 I know that 
many, when they first come to a sense of their own sinfulness, think 
something in this way : 'Christ will never receive so vile a sinner 
as I am : I must repent, and pray, and try to make myself a little 
better ; and then perhaps I may deserve his favor/ Alas ! they 
know not that repentance and prayer are his free gifts, and instead 
of praying for the pardon we receive, are themselves a part of it. 
Would it not have been as reasonable for the leper to have waited, 
till he could cleanse himself from his leprosy; the blind man, until 
his sight was improved : or the sick of the palsy, till he could take 
up his bed and walk, before they would come to Jesus to be healed? 
The first chapter of Romans, from the 18th to the 32nd verse, gives 
an awful description of the state of every man's heart by nature ; 
and though education and the restraints of civilized society have 
prevented the breaking out of sin in the dreadful and open way in 
which it was indulged among the heathen, still 1 think every person 
awakened to a sense of sin, will perceive in it, as in a glass, their 
own image : at least they will acknowledge, that the seed of every 
sin is in their heart, especially that most unnatural and truly dia- 
bolical sin, of " worshipping and serving the creature more than the 
Creator." And lest we should imagine that living in a country 
where God is known, and joining in acts of outward religion, can 
make the heart really better, till it is converted to God ; the Apostle 
goes on, in the second and third chapters, to prove that the Jew is 
no better than the Gentile; that "there is no difference; every 
mouth must be stopped, and all the world become guilty before 
God." And it is immediately after having given us such an awful 

i Jer. vi. 14. 2 Matt. ix. 12, 13. 



MEMOIR OF MARY JANE GRAHAM. 101 

view of our state, in the sight of God, that he goes on to hold out 
free and unconditional salvation, to all who simply trust in the 
death and righteousness of Christ. But I doubt not, you will soon 
perceive, to your comfort, how very free the offers of grace in the 
Gospel are. I cannot forbear mentioning one more instance ; it is 
in the parable of the two debtors, in the seventh of Luke — " And 
when they had nothing to pay , he frankly J "or gave them all." It 
is when we are brought to this feeling, that we " have nothing to 
pay," that our hearts are in a fit state to receive with eagerness and 
delight the " frank forgiveness" of our Saviour ; then we give Him 
all the glory of it. Surely you and I feel ourselves to be in the 
situation of the debtors who owed most. We have nothing to pay ; 
and sometimes I think I can even rejoice in this extremity of poverty, 
since it hides pride and boasting from me, and makes the mercy of 
God appear so divinely infinite. 1 do not know, that you have any 
reason for fancying that you shall die young : but though the 
thoughts of death are useful to all, and delightful to those whose 
sins are forgiven for Jesus' sake, I think we ought rather to be 
willing to live as long as our heavenly Father pleases, in hopes of 
being the means of bringing others to Him. 

'I am glad you like your pupils so much. I feel incompetent to 
give you any advice about them: I believe the great thing is to 
pray much for them, that they may have that grace, which alone 
can make the Sabbath a delight. We should also pray with them, 
and let them see that we are very anxious about their salvation, and 
that, though we attach much importance to their progress in other 
things, we look upon them all as nothing in comparison with the 
knowledge of Christ. Children sometimes take much pleasure in 
answering a few simple questions on a chapter they have read ; and 
in this way very little children may be made to comprehend a 
great deal. Many of the parables, types, and emblems in Scripture 
are particularly adapted to their capacities, and afford them great 
delight. I have seen a little child, who would have been tired to 
death with a serious discourse, listen for a long time with unwearied 
attention, whilst being told in its own childish language, how 
Christ compared himself to a vine, and his people to living branches ; 
or how Christ as the good Shepherd, "gathers the lambs with His 
arms, and carries them in His bosom." 1 While explaining these 
things, they should be taught the text or texts referred to ; that so 
a portion of God's own word may be fixed in their hearts. I think, 
however, there is nothing more important than to stop as soon as 
the attention of our little hearers seems to tire. Sometimes the 
eldest may be set to teach the youngest some verse or hymn. 
Scripture prints also form a very good resource for Sunday employ- 
ment. Children are so artless, that we can soon perceive what 
pleases them most ; and whatever kind of religious conversation or 

1 John xv. 1—5. Isaiah xl. 11. 



102 MEMOIR OF MARY JANE GRAHAM. 

employment seems particularly to interest them, should be brought 
out on Sunday, to make it as pleasant a day as possible to them. 1 

1 I hardly know how to say a word against Jeremy Taylor : he is 
a great favorite of mine ; but I cannot help thinking that his views 
of the doctrines of Christianity savor too much of monastic severity, 
and too little of the simplicity which is in Christ Jesus. The times 
he wrote in may account for these inconsistencies in the writings of 
so holy a man ; but I think they are calculated to increase the 
melancholy of any one who is unhappy about religion ; because 
there is something so obscure and confused in his ideas upon many 

important points. I must now, my dear , bid you farewell ; I 

need not tell you what pleasure it gives me to hear from you ; nor 
how earnestly I wish that you may find the peace and comfort you 
are seeking. My earnest prayer is that the promised " Spirit of 
truth" may be with you, to '' guide you into all truth." The 
weaknesses you own to me are exactly what I have felt, and do feel 
myself; but God will overcome them for us, and enable us to ''bring 
every thought into subjection to the obedience of Christ." I am 
sometimes afraid that my using so much Scripture language may 
appear like cant or affectation to you ; but I do it, because, when I 
express myself in the sense, and as much as possible in the words, 
of Scripture, I have less fear of misleading you, or of mixing my 
own earthly ideas with the pure and heavenly truths on which we 
are conversing.' 

Again — 

< Stoke, Jan. 22, 1827. 
* Though I have not yet heard of you, I am sure that all things 
are going on well with you, since the very God of love is become 
your God, and will be your Father and guide forever. May you 
know more and more every day of His forgiving love, and be led to 
feel that you are with Jesus, " who has loved you, and washed you 

1 On this subject, so embarrassing to many anxious parents, the writer is tempted to 
transcribe the sentiments of a Christian mother, to whose wisdom, tenderness, discipline, 
and prayers, he will feel deeply indebted to the end of his days. : With respect to chil- 
dren's early distinguishing the Sabbath from other days.' as Mrs. Barbauld says on an- 
other occasion, ' I think, a child should never remember the first time he heard of God, — 
so it should be with regard to the Sabbath. The remembrance of it may be drawn in al- 
most with the native nutriment, such as by attention to the church bells, the removal of 
playthings, of mamma's work-box, &c. Little H , at five years old, of course is be- 
yond all this, and must be talked to in a way which she will understand, and with a 
determination that the subject should be regarded according to the will of God, not yield- 
ing to anything for which she may contend with you. As to little . (not quite two 

years old,) if he makes sport of pictures, they must be sparingly used. But yet he will 
soon understand that he must be grave, or he will not have them ; and he will learn in 
time to make observations upon them, which will lead to restraint, especially if he sees 
his sister's employment under discipline. A pencil perhaps may be allowed him to try 
to make letters, or to see a church drawn, as it is God's house. The reason of the re- 
straint, and the importance of the distinction of days, will soon be seen. Meanwhile, 
habit must be the child's teacher. If he cannot discern a serious amusement from a com- 
mon one, the weekly revolution of the Sabbath will mark a difference. The wrong names 
which he may give to things is of little moment, provided the distinction in the things is 
clear and marked.' 






MEMOIR OF MARY JANE GRAHAM. 103 

from your sins in His own blood !" O my dear friend, my heart is 
full of joy, when I think that the Lord has taught you to seek 
happiness in Him. "Blessed are they that hunger and thirst after 
righteousness" — says this precious Saviour — u for they shall be 
filled." 1 Therefore from his own words I have a warrant to call 
you " blessed ;" and if He has given you himself, I care not what 
else He takes from you : knowing, as I do, that you can want 
nothing that is good for you, while the Lord of life and glory is 
yours. What a blessed prospect lies before you ! The same Spirit 
that has been showing you the vanity and sinfulness of your own 
heart, will not stop short there. No ; He will " guide you into all 
truth ; He will take of the things of Christ, and show them unto 
you ;" He will "shed abroad the love of God in your heart;" He 
will, in His own time, "fill you with joy and peace in believing;" 
He will bring you on "from strength to strength," and "from glory 
to glory," till at length He removes you hence, to that heaven 
where you shall see Christ as He is, be like him, and dwell with 
Him forever. 2 Now you have nothing to do but to live upon the 
fulness of Jesus, casting away your own righteousness, which is no 
better than filthy rags ; your own strength, which is mere weakness ; 
and your own wisdom, which is foolishness with God. You must 
put forth the hand of faith, and lay hold of the righteousness of 
Jesus, which he offers you as His free gift, Rom. v. 15, 21 — His 
strength, which is sufficient for you. 2 Cor. xii. 9, 10. Ephes. vi. 
10. Phil. iv. 13. 1 John iv. 4 — and His wisdom, which is also 
freely yours for Christ's sake. 1 Cor. i. 30. Only go on asking 
Him for more, more still, more of his precious love. He cannot deny 
it you ; for He has said, "that whatsoever ye shall ask in His name, 
He will give it you." 3 You cannot ask too much ; for think of the 
great things the Apostle asked, Ephes. iii. 14 — 19 ; yet He concludes 
all by saying, " Unto Him that is able to do exceeding- abundantly 

above all that we ask or think." Dear , is not ours a happy 

lot ? " If God be for us, who can be against us ? Who shall lay 
anything to the charge of God's elect? It is God that justifieth : 
who is he that condemneth ? It is Christ that died ; yea, rather, 
that is risen again ; who is even at the right hand of God ; who also 
maketh intercession for us." 4 Here is our anchor of hope — Christ 
died ; Christ is risen ; Christ intercedes. When Satan or our own 
evil conscience accuses us, we are too apt to look for comfort to 
something in ourselves. In this we shall always be disappointed ; 
if we look to Christ, we never shall. May He teach us by His own 
Spirit how to live by faith in Him ! I long to hear from you, and 
to know whether you have yet been able to find peace in God. 
This precious gift will, I know, be bestowed upon you. Do tell me 
all you feel, and let me often have a letter from you ; for, believe 
me, scarcely anything can afford me greater pleasure. 

1 Matthew v. 6. 

2 John xvi. 13—15. Rom. v. 5; xv. 13. Psalm Ixxxiv. 7. 2 Cor. iii. 18. 1 John iii. 2. 

3 John xiv. 13, 14. * Romans viii. 31—34. 



104 MEMOIR OF MARY JANE GRAHAM. 



H 



1 1 pray that your communications may always bring 1 me the 
happy news, that you are more and more devoted to our dearest 
Lord, in whom may we, my dearest friend, become daily more uni- 
ted. There is a common friendship which is very delightful ; but 
there is a communion of spirit peculiar to those who love the Lord 
Jesus ; and this is what I trust He will grant to us ; for it will last, 
when common friendship has been long withered by the hand of 
death. May you be blessed with every spiritual blessing, and rooted 
and grounded in love ! This is the prayer of, &c. 5 

The next letter exhibits accurate discrimination, and a high 
standard of Christian experience. 

' I was much interested, my dearest friend, in what you said 
about mingling earthly with heavenly feelings. It is a difficult 
question ; and one which I am sure I am not fit to answer. Only 
I think we may in some degree know whether our love is of the 
right kind or not, by asking ourselves whether it really is God that 
we love in our friends, and in our communion with them ; whether 
we love those that are in Christ incomparably more than those who 
are not in him ; and whether after all we could give up the society 
of the very best and dearest of them all, rather than lose one par- 
ticle of God's favor. Surely we may love our friends, and that 
most dearly, for God requires it of us ; but then " he that loveth 
father or mother more than Him is not worthy of Him."' Love to 
our friends seems to be the purest earthly feeling : yet I think, if 
we find ourselves enjoying devotion in its social privileges, more 
than in personal communion with God, our devotion cannot have 
been altogether of a spiritual character. But while we lament over 
the weakness and inconsistency, which spoil our holiest actions, 
and defile the sweetest affections God has given us, let us take 
comfort in the thought, " that we have not an high-priest who can- 
not be touched with the feeling of our infirmities." "He knoweth 
our frame, he remembereth that we are dust;" 2 and (what should 
raise our gratitude to the highest pitch) he himself has been made 
dust, like unto our miserable dust in all things, except sin, on pur- 
pose that he might be able to " have compassion on the ignorant, 
and on those who are out of the way." There is such a clear view 
given to us in the Epistie to the Hebrews of the twofold nature of 
the Lord Jesus, that I derive unspeakable comfort from studying- 
it. Scarcely any book makes me see so clearly that he is the Lord 
God " dwelling in light inaccessible, whom no man hath seen or 
can see ;" and yet that he is " bone of my bone, and flesh of my 
flesh ;" able to enter into my feelings, to pity my weaknesses, and 
to sympathize with me in my temptations. Oh, if we could but 
dwell upon the wonder more! it is the "wisdom of God, and the 
power of God." " Angels desire to look into it ;" ;i the spirits of the 
just" are forever learning more about it ; and I know of nothing 

» Matt. x. 37. 2 Heb. iv. 15. Psalm ciii. 14. 



MEMOIR OF MARY JANE GRAHAM. 105 

so likely to make the souls of God's people here like those who are 
above, as the continual contemplation of this marvellous love of 

God, in manifesting- himself in the flesh. Dear M , how soon 

we shall see him face to face, " whom having not seen we love !" 
Let us seek to become intimately acquainted with him here. Let 
us be often conversing with him, and always near to him, that he 
may not have to say to us — " I never knew you." He will never 
say this to us ; but our watchful enemy may in some dark hour 
suggest such a thing to us ; and then how delightful to be able to 
refute such a suggestion, by the memory of all ihe intimate com- 
munion we have enjoyed with Jesus ! to be able to appeal to this 
dearest friend himself, that so far from never having known him, 
we have known, desired, loved nothing else in comparison with 
him ! Would that this were my case now ! But I feel as far away 
from Jesus, as if he were quite a stranger to my soul. My heart 
seems bent to backslide ; and I cannot help continually thinking 
of that bitter complaint of Job's — "Oh that I were as in months 
past, as in the days when God preserved me, when his candle 
shined upon my head, and when, by his light, I walked through 
darkness !" 1 Still I know that God " will heal my backsliding, 
and love me freely ;" 2 for though I am changed, " He changes not." 3 
But how strange it is, that our hearts should ever be so alienated 
from God, after having once known how sweet it is to love him ! 
Surely the character of long-su fife ring, so often given to God in the 
Scriptures, has never been manifested by any one in so many in- 
stances as to me. Let us not forget, dearest M , to pray for 

one another, " that our hearts may be knit together in love, and 
unto all riches of the full assurance of understanding," 4 that we 
may daily increase in the " knowledge of Him, whom to know is 
life eternal." ' 

The interesting tone of Christian simplicity which the following 
letter breathes, is worthy of remark. 

1 August 4, 1825. 
' You will perhaps be surprised to receive a letter so soon after 
my last. But I feel this morning an irresistible wish to write to 
you, to which I was moved whilst praying for you ; and in the 
strength of Jesus I will speak to you only of him. Perhaps I shall 
to-day receive a letter from you : I shall be very glad, because I am 
so anxious to know that you have devoted yourself in the fullest 

manner to Him, who gave up his life for you. My dear , I do 

not know whether you are feeling with me ; but it is a cheering 
hope to me, that I, who have so often encouraged you in the great- 
est sin which a redeemed soul can commit, that of indifference to 
the service and love of the Redeemer, may now be an instrument 

i Job xxix. 2, 3. 2 Hos. xiv. 4. 

s Mai. iii.6. *Col.ii.2. 



106 MEMOIR OF MARY JANE GRAHAM. 

in His hands to animate ) r ou to very different feelings. We have 
given way to a very unfaithful spirit in our fears, and in our repug- 
nance to speak in His name. Let us only believe, that when he 
grants us the inestimable privilege of carrying the blessed news of 
His Gospel — " it is not we that speak, but the Spirit of our Father 
which speaketh in us." 1 This feeling that we are nothing, but 
that He is everything in us, would give us a confidence full of joy, 
and at the same time without pride. It is indeed the height of 
happiness to follow him like a little child, to live in Christ, and out 
of ourselves. Oh, had I but a constant sight of his love ! but he 
" is faithful, who will stablish us, and keep us from evil." 2 Let 
us confide in Him ; let us tell him that we are not able to move a 
single step towards Him, that we cannot love Him, nor believe in 
His name. His goodness will allure us, His power preserve us, His 
strength will be given us in exchange for our weakness, and we 
shall find an indescribable delight in being able to do all in Christ.' 
To her cousin she writes in this affectionate and encouraging 
strain : — 

< November 27, 1827. 
'Let me tell you, my dear friend, how sincerely and affection- 
ately I sympathize with you in the feelings you express with regard 
to the most important of all subjects. My dearest cousin, go on 
seeking. There are pleasures, rivers of pleasures, whereof the true 
Christian drinks with unspeakable delight ; and in His own time 
Jesus, the good Shepherd, will lead you to these fountains of living 
water. Already He, who " calleth His own sheep by name, and 
leadeth them out" 3 from the world of sin, has called you by His own 
word, speaking to your soul. Do but be willing, as Levi, " to rise 
up, leave all, and follow Him ;" 4 and you will find that He will lead 
you in the pleasant and peaceful way. For every vain pleasure 
that He calls upon you to give up, He will give a thousand solid 
and real pleasures, which it hath not entered into the worldling's 
heart to conceive.' 

The next letter, written to her cousin, marks the instruction, 
obligation, and encouragement connected with the hour of " trouble," 
— that time " to which man is born," 5 and when to the unhumbled 
and unsanctified mind, the resources of the world often aggravate 
suffering, instead of contributing support. 

1 March 20, 1825. 

c Our meeting, my dear friend, must be deferred to a future time, 

if ever it takes place in this world. But there is another meeting, 

to which we may safely look forward, if we are the children of God 

through Christ Jesus : and this will be in the presence of our best 

i Matt. x. 20. 2 2 Thess. iii. 3. 3 j h n x. 3. 

4 Matt. ix. 9. 5 Job v. 7. 






MEMOIR OF MARY JANE GRAHAM. 107 



and dearest Friend, who so loved us, as to " purchase us with his 
own blood." How happy, how very happy it would make me, to 
know that my much-loved cousin was making it the grand object 
of her life to seek for salvation through the all-sufficient Saviour ; 
and that we were united, not only by the strong ties of relationship 
and affection, but also by that bond of the Spirit, which makes all 
the redeemed people of Christ to be of one heart and one soul ! Let 
us pray for this one thing, to be devoted to the Lord Jesus : it is a 
heaven begun on earth. The severe trial with which it has pleased 
our gracious God to afflict us, 1 has given us an additional reason to 
write vanity upon all human hopes and expectations: and I hope 
I may say, that it has driven us to seek for comfort in those things 
which alone can give any real relief to a mind under the pressure 
of grief. Painful indeed it is to speak about anything which brings 
with it such afflicting recollections. Yet I feel that I cannot, and 
must not leave it, till I have entreated you, my beloved friend, to 
join me in seeking a " friend that sticketh closer than a brother," 
whom no length of time, or adverse circumstances can take from 
us. Into his gracious ear we may pour all our complaints : " in all 
our afflictions he will be afflicted." 2 And one glimpse of his love 
will enable us to rejoice in the midst of tribulation. But there is 
one condition — " Give me thine heart." 3 He must have all or none. 
A divided heart he will not accept. A heart that indulges in any 
one sin, that cleaves to any one worldly vanity, can never be the 
residence of His pure Spirit : he must have the whole heart, every 
thought, every faculty, every affection must centre in Him. And 
who is able to perform this condition? I am sure neither you nor 
I can ; for we are carnal, and " the carnal heart is enmity against 

God." 4 Well then, my dear , let us simply believe on Him to 

effect all this for us. Let us come to Him as sinners ; for a His 
blood cleanseth from all sin." Let us come as wretched, and poor, 
and blind ; and He " will fill our minds with joy and peace in be- 
lieving," will give us " gold tried in the fire, that we may be rich," 
and will cause His Spirit to shine into our dark hearts, " to give the 
light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus 
Christ." 6 True, we cannot love Him of ourselves ; but He can 
compel even our hearts to love Him. Oh may He reveal Himself to 
your soul, and give you such discoveries of His amazing love, as 
may constrain you to make Him your ';'- all in all !" ' 

In another letter, on the same subject, we find her taking her 
chair by the side of her afflicted friend, and, like a true daughter of 
consolation, " comforting her with the same comfort, wherewith she 
herself had been comforted of God." 

1 Probably alluding to the death of her only brother. 2 Isaiah Ixiii. 9. 

3 Prov. xxiii. 26. 4 Romans viii. 7. 

5 Rev. iii. 18. 6 2 Cor. iv. 6. 



► 



108 MEMOIR OF MARY JANE GRAHAM. 

1 January ISth, 1828. 
' My very dear Friend, 

'A letter from , informed me of the very heavy trial 

you have sustained. I did not like immediately to intrude upon 
your feelings ; and since then, illness has prevented my writing". 
How I have longed to be with you, and share your grief, though I 
am sensible of my inability to afford you any consolation ! But I 
could at least have mingled my feelings with yours, and told you, 
what however you need not be told, that your losses and afflictions 
must ever be in a measure mine. My beloved friend, would that 
in partaking, as I most sincerely do, of your sorrow, I could in any 
way lighten or alleviate it ! But I rejoice in the thought, that faith 
has united you to one, who is the God of comfort; and his Spirit 
is the Comforter. May he shed abundantly of his previous influ- 
ence into your heart and your dear sister's at this trying time ! 
May he " lift up the light of his countenance upon you" both ! and 
that will turn your mourning into gladness. Perhaps this bereave- 
ment will lead you nearer to Jesus : for we have an unfailing 
promise, that " all things shall work together for our good." " Whom 
the Lord loveth he chasteneth, even as a father the son in whom 
he delighteth. As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten." 1 And 
then how sweet to be assured, that "in all our afflictions he is 
afflicted !" that in all our troubles he is near to help ; that in all our 
bereavements he is ready to fill up with himself the painful dreary 
void, which is made in our hearts ! My beloved friend, I do not 
say these things to you " because you know them not, but rather 
because you know them," and are, 1 trust, at this time living upon 
them. How vain were it to speak to you of earthly comfort under 
the heavy loss you have sustained ! But this is the very time, 
when God's children often drink deepest of heavenly consolation ; 
and I trust it is thus with my precious friend. I know that our 
heavenly Father has afflicted you in very faithfulness ; and though 
for the present your chastisement must seem '• grievous" indeed to 
you, yet hereafter it shall bring forth in you " the peaceable fruits 
of righteousness." 2 In the meantime may you be taught to lay 
hold on the gracious invitation to " call upon God in the time of 
trouble !" Make David's words your own — " from the end of the 
earth will I cry unto thee, when my heart is overwhelmed ; lead me 
to the rock that is higher than I." " What time I am afraid, I will 
trust in thee." " My soul trusteth in thee, and in the shadow of 
thy wings will I make my refuge, until these calamities be overpast." 
" In the day of my trouble I will call upon thee ; for thou wilt 
answer me"* And may you, my dear friend, be able to apply to 
yourself the words of our God — " Behold, I have refined thee, but 
not with silver : I have chosen thee in the furnace of affliction. I, 
even I, am he that comforteth you — as one whom his mother 

1 Romans viii. 28. Heb. xii. 6. Rev. iii. 19. 

2 Psalm cxix. 75. Hebrews xii. 11. 3 Psalm 1. 15; lxi. 2; lvi. 3; lvii. 1; lxxxvi. 7. 



MEMOIR OF MARY JANE GRAHAM. 109 

comforteth, so will I comfort you." " In a little wrath I hid my 
face from thee for a moment ; but with everlasting kindness will 
I have mercy on thee, saith the Lord thy Redeemer." 1 I would not 
obtrude my own words upon you upon an occasion like this. But 
I may hope that the Spirit of truth will bless his words to your 
comfort ; so I fear not to tire you with the repetition, for they are 
always new, — " O God. thou art my God." 2 Here is a balm for 
every wound ; yes, he is your God. Wisdom and tenderness shall 
form the basis of all his dealings towards you ; and he, who is so 
wise and so tender, is engaged to do you nothing but good all the 
days of your life. I did not mean to have written so much, know- 
ing that even the sympathy of friendship may sometimes be an in- 
terruption to our own feelings. But I now leave off, begging you 
to accept the warmest affection of, &c.' 

How delightful is the confidence, which Miss Graham here 
expresses in the support of the simple word of God in the hour of 
affliction ! Though her letter affords some of her own beautiful 
thoughts, yet her main effort is perceptible throughout ; not to strain 
her mind to force out something original or striking, but to bring 
forward the encouraging promises of scripture, as far more powerful 
than the product of her own thought. This is honoring the word 
of God. 

The next letter relates personally to herself, and gives a lively 
description of her state of mind, with a happy transition from her 
own playful spirit, to a more serious and edifying strain. 

< April, 1827. 
1 I am sure that I am very old for my age. It is not common at 
twenty-four to live upon the past as I do. Most people would 
rather feed upon pleasant hopes of the future, but that is a thing I 
never do without trembling. It is not that I have the least doubt 
of everything being ordered for my happiness ; but I dread passing 
my life in this painful uncertainty ; and I think this requires more 
faith than to pass it in the most severe affliction. Besides, I am 
afraid of living in a kind of tertian fever : for either I am very hot 
or very cold. I am incapable of an equal temperament in anything. 
A person who knows me this month would not know me the next. 
I do not know myself; God knows me; he knows all my weak- 
nesses, all my vanity: however, all this does not cause him to for- 
sake me. When I stray, he seeks me ; when I return, he receives 
me with tenderness ; when I doubt, he assures me ; when I am 
unhappy, he consoles me. Surely he can give me strength to 
devote myself wholly to him, and not to turn away again from his 
ways.' 

Another letter affords a beautiful illustration of her spirituality of 
mind, connected with the recollection of her literary pursuits. 

1 Isaiah xlviii. 10; li. 12 ; Ixvi. 12 j liv. 7, 8. 2 Psalm lxiii. 1. 



110 MEMOIR OF MARY JANE GRAHAM. 

< Chudleigh, Sept. 1827. 

c You are then at -, where you lead a very pleasant life, but 

where you are not happy, because he who is your happiness no 
longer cheers you with his presence. I also am very gay. I am 
here to my heart's content ; and 1 am not happy, because I cannot 
find my God— my beloved. I find that we "are the salt of the 
earth ;" but that this " salt has lost its savor, and is no longer good 
for anything, but to be thrown away and trodden under foot of 
men." 1 But the infinite compassion of Jesus will not suffer it to be 
so with us, and therefore he causes us to feel incessantly bitter 
inquietudes, which will not suffer us to rest without returning to 
him. In the meantime we are both in a new place, which we shall 
perhaps never see again. Shall we quit this place without leaving 
there some savor of the name of Jesus Christ? It is delightful to 
be able to create recollections as exquisite as those awakened by the 
beautiful images of Petrarch and Tasso. But it is much more 
delightful to remember every place, where we have seen some soul 
converted to God ; this recollection will solace us at a time, when 
all the delights of our Tasso will appear but a vain dream. I do 
not say this because I feel as 1 speak. I see it in my understand- 
ing ; but it does not reach to my heart. However, I speak because 
I desire to feel it, and that you should feel it too. I wish to love 
Tasso, and our other studies, only for the love of God, and to give 
all to his service. But I love them too much for myself; and yet I 
do not think it would be right to give them up, since they may one 
day be of use to me.' 

We will now present a few letters, which will introduce us to a 
nearer view of the exercises of her own mind. She appears to have 
been deeply harassed, in common with the great Apostle, with that 
painful conflict, which his own inspired pen has so graphically de- 
scribed in Romans vii. — a chapter which — though unintelligible to 
the world, and even to the merely external professors of the Gospel — ■ 
unfolds more or less of the secret history of every Christian's heart. 
The following letter, of an early date, marks her mind exercised in 
the painful sense of her own deficiencies, while anxiously engaged 
in the pursuit of that knowledge, which was the basis of all that 
was valuable, both in her intellectual and spiritual character. 

' June, 1823. 
' No — I have not yet regained my peace of mind. It is a guest 
which will not dwell in a soul so weak and vain as mine. I have 
again read a passage in Mason. But I find, that although self- 
knowledge is the most excellent kind of wisdom man can possess, 
yet there is a sort of self-knowledge, which only debases and 
hardens the soul ; and this is exactly the kind with which I am 
furnished. And whilst true self-knowledge introduces order and 



i Matthew v. 13. 



TP 







_ 






MEMOIR OF MARY JANE GRAHAM. Ill 



light into the soul, as when the sun enlightens the earth ; the self- 
knowledge which I possess rather resembles the lightning, which 
shines for a moment, and shows all the desolation which the storm 
has produced, and which itself increases the desolation. To know 
one's self miserable, but not to be unwilling to use the means of 
being happy ; to know one's self a sinner, but to flee from and 
abandon the Saviour of sinners, has been a true description of 
my feelings.' 

To her cousin she expresses some grounds of thankful recollec- 
tion for Christians, who are called in " the days of their youth" to 
the service of their God and Saviour. 

'My dearest . I seem to have so much to say to you, 

that I scarcely know where to begin. I am not now afraid of in- 
dulging in a little effusion of my feelings to you, as they begin to 
sit less heavy upon my heart. I begin to feel a sort of assurance, 
that it will ere long be "with me as in months past, when the can- 
dle of the Lord sinned upon my head." Yet I cannot tell you that 
I enjoy anything of really spiritual feeling. Oh ! that has been 
too long stifled to awake at once to anything like life and vigor. 1 

Dear , let us be more careful than we have hitherto been, not 

to quench the spark of Divine life in our hearts, not to suffer the 
love of the world to enter where the Holy Spirit has deigned to 
erect a temple to himself. I must tell you the thought which 
struck me yesterday, and roused me more effectually than any- 
thing for some time past has done. It was a sense of the blessed- 
ness of being called in our youth to the knowledge of God, now 
that our feelings are fresh, and our habits unformed : before we 
have entered into the pleasures, company, and temptations of the 
w T orld. It seems as though we had, through the mercy of our 
Saviour, being turned from the broad path of destruction while yet 
upon the threshold — before we could have a long and weary way 
of sin to retrace. Are not these mercies, which call for our warmest 
gratitude 1 Shall I tell you another light, which then struck me 
more forcibly than I had ever felt it before ? Is it not a blessing to 
have been enabled to enter decidedly upon a life of religion, before 
we had formed any connection contrary to it? Now everything 
seems open before us. The narrow path has been for us divested 

1 The writer feels it right to notice this sentence as a subtle form of legality, very prev- 
alent with young Christians, and not unknown to exercised Christians in a higher stage 
of maturity. The chastisement of the rod is indeed numbered among the rich provisions 
of the everlasting Covenant (Psalm lxxxix. 30 — 32); and usually the Lord makes the 
backslidings of his children the instruments of his salutary correction. (Jer. ii. 19.) 
But let us never seem to dictate to him the mode of his discipline ; and especially let us 
not limit the absolute and unbounded freedom of the Gospel, which opens the way of im- 
mediate and complete acceptance to those who deserve a more protracted banishment from 
his favor. The expectation of an indefinitely distant return paralyzes the present effort; 
while the freeness of mercy opens the door of instant hope for the most hopeless, (Isaiah 
xliii. 23^25,) and indeed induces the constraining motive to the first step of penitence. 
(Ibid. xliv. 22.) 






112 MEMOIR OF MARY JANE GRAHAM. 

of half its difficulties ; and great will be our sin and misery, if we 
walk not in it with a cheerful devoted resolve, that every future 
step may be for his glory, who first led us into it.' 

The next letter displays the jealous though exquisite enjoyment 
of her sources of legitimate pleasure in the work of God. 

1 Hastings, July, 1823. 

1 1 am no longer sad, unless a pleasure too profound for laughter 
or gayety can be called sadness. There are times when I feel un- 
happy, because I am so happy — because I can derive such exqui- 
site enjoyment from objects which pass away in a moment, while 
the things of eternal duration make only a Jight and fleeting im- 
pression on my soul. I cannot, however, forbid myself from en- 
joying the delights, which here present themselves every minute to 
my mind ; and you must pardon me if I fatigue you with many 
absurdities.' 

The following allusion to her early attainments cannot fail of 
interesting the reader. 

{ There are periods in the life of every person, which have re- 
spect only to the intellect, but which affect, however, all the rest 
of the life, and to which may be traced up almost all the intel- 
lectual qualities which that person possesses. It appears to me, 
that the period to which my mind recurs with the greatest pleasure 
is that, when I began to learn Milton as a simple act of memory. 1 
What a low and unworthy motive ! However, when my soul 
began to open, to understand a little his noble ideas, so entire a 
change was made in my inclinations and taste, that 1 can hardly 
believe myself to be the same person.' 

The next letter gives a profitable application of Scripture, to- 
gether with an interesting train of remark. 

'June, 1823. 
' One text of Scripture has lately dwelt much upon my mind, and 
seemed like a sentence of condemnation upon my worldly-minded- 
ness and inconsistency. It is that short but expressive description 
of the conversion from sin — "And he rose up, and left all, and fol- 
lowed him." 2 Oh ! what a warning — and yet by me unheeded 
warning — does it seem to rise and shake off these fetters of sloth 
and inactivity — to leave all, even the dearest friends, the most deep- 
rooted habits, which can come in the way of this grand end. and 
to follow Jesus through affliction and difficulties, in all the meek 
simplicity and lowly dependence of a little child ! May he give us 
strength thus to follow his loved steps ! May he enable us to walk 
hand in hand, mutually encouraging and supporting each other, 

1 See page 12. 2 Luke v. 28. 






MEMOIR OF MARY JANE GRAHAM. 113 

till we come to the presence of his glory, there to abide forever ! 
I well know the feeling 1 you mention with regard to another world. 
But when thinking of this, I am unfortunately apt to reverse it, and 
to consider the past as a painful dream, and the present as some- 
thing too disagreeable to be real ; while I look forward to future 
hopes and schemes till the dreams of my imagination assume the 
shape of delightful realities ; and in stretching forward to them, I 
forget, that it is only in the sober and continual routine of present 
duties, that I can hope to attain those delightful expectations.' 

Her seasons of prayer appear to have been, in common with all 
Christians, times of severe conflict. The following extract, after 
alluding to the blots that too often deform the profession of the 
Gospel, adverts to this point. 

' Torquay, April 12, 1825. 
c How many w T ays there are of dishonoring the Christian pro- 
fession ! some by ill humor; some by coldness; some by im- 
moderate zeal ; others by the fear of man. Oh ! my dear friend, 
let us seek to ornament our profession ; let us see in the unlimited 
compassion of our good Shepherd, pardon for our past extreme luke- 
warmness, and Divine strength to shake off the drowsiness which 
oppresses us. Not only the prayers which I offer for myself, but 
those which I offer up for you, seem to be covered with a cloud 
through which they cannot penetrate. My prayers did I say ? I 
do not pray — I am frightened when I think of the state in which I 
am. If you are in a more spiritual frame, when at the feet of the 
Saviour, remember her who is gone so far away.' 

To another of her correspondents she thus writes : 

'April 30, 1827. 
'I can hardly tell you what a strange state I am in — one minute 
longing after holiness so intensely, that I feel as if I should die if I 
did not get it : the next so full of vain thoughts, that I hardly 
know what real spiritual holiness is. I never had such clear views 
of the extreme depravity of my heart and life. Every day I learn 
something new about my helplessness and blindness, and dreadful 
wickedness. But though I can spread these things before God in 
prayer, I cannot mourn over them ; or if I do, it is from a sense 
of my misery — not from a view of Him whom I have pierced. 
Well ! I know this hardness of heart is a part of the complaint 
under which I groan, and which will be removed by the great 
Physician. But I am sometimes confounded by the seemingly con- 
trary answers I receive to prayer, though in the end I feel the deal- 
ings of God with me to have been wise and just. For instance — 
after having prayed much for a sense of sin, I seem to have been 
left to the power of it. I feel left to strive with a great enemy, who 
tramples me with the greatest ease under his feet. Let me not un- 

8 



114 MEMOIR OF MARV JANE GRAHAM. 

justly murmur against my dearest and wisest Saviour. For he 
leaves me not long at the mercy of my cruel adversary, but ap- 
pears on my behalf often when I have the least expectation of it. 
One thing distresses me very much. It is so strange. I have for 
some time past scarcely ever enjoyed a spiritual sabbath. I often 
enjoy a sabbath on week-days ; but when Sunday comes (I mean 
the last three or four,) all my spiritual feelings go ; religion seems 
the dullest thing in the world, and vain thoughts the pleasantest ; 
I cannot tell you how the comfort of the day is destroyed. It was 
the case the whole of yesterday till quite night, when the accidental 
opening upon this little verse of Toplady's brought back the loveli- 
ness of Christ to my thoughts with such sweetness, and filled me 
with such longings after Him, that for some time I could not sleep : 

Less than thyself will not suffice, 

My comfort to restore ; 
More than thyself I cannot crave, 

And thou canst give no more. 

Oh, to be "filled with all the fulness of God !" to have "Christ 
dwelling in our hearts by faith !'' to be temples of the Holy Ghost ! 
To know that this is mine ; and yet for want of faith I so often 
make my heart as a cage of unclean birds. My dearest friend, I 
have chosen this verse for my portion, my treasure in this world 
and the next. I recommend it to you ; and I know God will give 
it to us, and abundantly fulfil our wishes above all that we can 
ask or think — Ezek. xliv. 28. What a glorious portion ! Hard as 
my heart is, and blind as my eyes are, I see and feel a little of its 
excellence : but then so often my soul forgets her joy, looks back 
upon the world, and shrinks from the choice, which a few minutes 
before seemed so unutterably desirable !' 

At another time she writes in the same strain. 

'May 15, 1827. 

1 1 think I would give up every prospect of worldly happiness that 
I have, or ever can have, to have these vain thoughts crucified and 
nailed to the cross of Jesus ; and yet often, the more I want to be 
delivered from them, the more obstinately I cleave to them, and I 
am so soon tired of praying against them. But the everlasting 
covenant fills me with hope and comfort — " I will put my fear in 
their hearts, that they shall not depart from me. I will put my law 
in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts.'" 1 

The next letter shortly afterwards is of a similar character. 
The spirit of tender carefulness that marks the closing allusion 
is worthy of special remark. 

1 Jer. xxxii. 40 ; xxxi. 33. 



MEMOIR OF MARY JANE GRAHAM. 115 

'Stoke, June 2, 1827. 
1 1 never wanted something to awaken and alarm me so much 
as I do now. I think I could be content to have some very great 
affliction, if it would but restore me to communion with God. I 
told you how much vain thoughts had tempted and annoyed me. 
When I last wrote to you, I felt confident of being soon made more 
"than conqueror through him that loved me." But I have lately 
left off striving against them ; and now having turned " the house 
of prayer into a den of thieves," I know not how to cast them out 
again. Oh ! that Jesus himself would drive them from his tem- 
ple, though it be with a scourge. 1 With regard to , I feel it 

more and more my duty to send my letter. But what I have writ- 
ten has been given to me, and I am afraid to finish it, lest I should, 
in my worldly and unbelieving frame, mix something of my own 
with it.' 

Yet her deep self-abasing apprehensions were not — except, pos- 
sibly, at seasons of temptation — tinctured with despondency. From 
the tone of many of the preceding letters it is evident, that she 
knew the fulness of her resources in the promises of the Gospel : 
and in her prostrate humiliation of soul she did not cease to plead 
them to the uttermost of her warranted expectations. Thus she 
writes to a friend : 

' and I, and all took the sacrament yesterday. I never felt 

so much — ' the remembrance of these our misdoings is grievous ; 
the burden of them is intolerable.' Is it not great and free love, 
which has made that a burden to us, which was once our delight ; 
and that intolerable, which we once drank up like water? But 
what puzzles and alarms me is, that it should be sometimes in- 
tolerable, and yet not forsaken ; and sometimes at the moment 
when I feel it to be intolerable, the struggle to give it up is more 
intolerable. The only thing that makes me feel a holy hatred of 
sin, is the thought, that, even when it seems sweetest to me, the 
eye of Jesus beholds it as an evil and a bitter thing ; and I shall 
soon look upon it as He does. It is " that abominable thing which 
He hates." 2 It is that abominable thing which my wretched 
abominable heart loves. But then I do hate myself for loving it ; 
and I do not know anything I would not thank God for depriving 
me of, if it would tend to make me see sin as He does. I know 
this is the way you feel. Then let us take comfort in the thought 
that Jesus has done something for us, and to us who have (though 
so little) more will be given. " Open thy mouth wide, and I will 
fill it ;" this often gives me comfort, (as indeed the whole of the 
eighty-first Psalm does) : but then we can no more open our 
mouths, than we can fill them. God must open them wide, and 
fill them too. I feel so much comfort in thinking that we cannot 
open our mouths too wide ; we cannot be too greedy of heavenly 

1 John ii. 15. 3 Jer. xliv. 4. 



116 MEMOIR OF MARY JANE GRAHAM. 

food, nor too grasping of heavenly riches. It is not presumption, 
but faith and humility, to expect that God for Christ's sake will fill 
our earthen vessels with an eminent measure of his heavenly 
treasures ; and the greatest eminence in Christian grace is to lose 
sight of self, to be willing to be least of all — to be nothing, and to 
look upon others as nothing, except as they are in Christ, and to 
look upon Christ as everything. But oh, how far am I from this ! 
Yet I do not despair. I have had glimpses of it. I trust it shall 
one day be the settled temper of both our souls. Pray for me, and 
pray that 1 may be enabled to pray for you.' 

The darkness and conflicts of her mind, were doubtless much in- 
creased by the active power of the enemy operating upon her 
enervated health. It is delightful, however, to mark the cheering 
irradiations of sunshine breaking in upon her, as marked in the 
following letter : 

< November 21, 1S26. 
My beloved Friend, 
' I can almost say in the words of Scripture, which you love, that 
the winter of my soul is gone, and that the sweet season of the 
springing of flowers, and of singing of birds is come, and that the 
voice of the celestial dove makes itself heard. 1 1 again begin to 
know what it is to walk, " as seeing Him who is invisible." But 
do not suppose that I am in a very spiritual state. But the least 
ray of the light of his countenance appears immense, after so many 

weeks passed in darkness and rebellion. Oh ! my , let us 

exert every effort to find again the lover and the beloved of our 
souls. Who knows but his own time may come, in which he will 
fully reveal himself to us? Let us pray for each other, that we 
may be wholly separated from the world and from ourselves, and 
more closely united to Jesus, in whose strength we shall be able to 
do all things. I cannot feel that deep repentance that I ought to 
feel for my repeated transgressions. But even in this I see the 
Divine love, beeause every strong emotion affects my health.' 

Her views of the power of faith in prayer were most enlivening. 
1 1 never pray.' — said she one day to a dear friend — ' without a 
promise.' On that promise she was enabled to rely with entire 
confidence. Referring to the fulness and power of the Apostle's 
prayer, Eph. i. 17, 18, and to that sublime doxology, chap. iii. 20, 
21, — she added, 'What a prayer was this ! How comprehensive ! 
How much are we encouraged to ask for ! Why then do we receive 
so little, but because our hearts are not sufficiently enlarged ? We 
are wanting in faith. We do not expect enough from God. We 
are straitened in ourselves. We are not straitened in God. How 
much more should we receive, if we " continued instant in prayer," 

* See Cant. ii. 11, 12. 



MEMOIR OF MARY JANE GRAHAM. 117 

and H prayed without ceasing." We are like the King of Israel, 
who, when commanded by Elisha to smite on the ground, pro- 
voked the wrath of the man of God, by smiting only thrice, and 
then staying. Whereas, had he smitten five or six times, he 
would not only have gained a temporary advantage over his ene- 
mies, but would have utterly destroyed them. 1 Thus in our prayers 
we are contented with small success. We do not continue enough 
in the exercise. Even when our hearts have been somewhat en- 
larged, we have been too ready to desist, and rest satisfied without 
persevering till we have received yet larger supplies of Divine 
grace." 

To another friend she wrote in the same enlarged spirit of Chris- 
tian expectancy : — 

< May 15, 1827. 
£ I see something of the love of Christ, which I would not lose 
for worlds. But neither do you or I see half what may be seen of 
it even in this world, if we ask in faith. Only let us not be 
afraid of expecting too much. Let us stretch our prayers and ex- 
pectations to the very uttermost of what " we can ask or think ;" 
and as sure as God is truth, w T e shall receive " exceeding abun- 
dantly above all that we can ask or think.'' 2 We shall receive all 
that Jesus can ask or think.' 

Her views of Christian assurance, as set forth in the following 
letter, were clear and scriptural. 

1 July 4, 1827. 
'My mind is in a state of declension and deadness to spiritual 
things, which is the more awful to me, from having enjoyed much 
communion with God, a few weeks ago. I know not how to de- 
scribe this state better than by saying, that prayer seems to be my 
burden ; and evil thoughts my element ; and that, instead of 
maintaining a continued conflict against this inclination, I feel a 
kind of obstinate hardened disposition in my mind, leading me to 
yield rather to Satan than to God. But even during all this time, 
my evidence of being a child of God, though not brought with any 
realizing sweetness to my heart, yet remains quite clear and un- 
clouded to my understanding. But my evidence is this — not that 
J am now in a spiritual frame of mind (though that would be a 
delightful confirmation of it) — but that — let my state be what it 
will, — still I cannot forget, that I have cast myself a thousand and 
a thousand times upon the mercy of God in Christ Jesus. I have 
committed my soul to him ; and, though I am unfaithful and un- 
believing, yet [ know that he abicleth ever faithful, to keep that 
which has once been committed to him. Besides— I have told him 

1 2 Kings xiii. 14—19. 2 Eph. iii. 02. 



118 MEMOIR OF MARY JANE GRAHAM. 

again and again — and that with agonizing earnestness, — what a 
weak backsliding heart I have intrusted to his care ; and that, if he 
does not hold me up, I shall fall. And how can I think that he has 
forgotten all my prayer for keeping, and all his promises of keeping 
me, and that he means to let me fall forever ? Oh ! I cannot think 
so. I cling to my assurance, and cannot but think, that as Christ — 
and Christ alone — is the foundation of it, it must be well-founded. 
I must think (I would say it with reverence) that God would cease 
to be "a faithful Creator," 1 if he could give up a soul that has been 
so often confided to his keeping. There is one verse, that in the 
darkest and coldest seasons comes with comfort to my mind. I 
know that I have often asked my heavenly Father for bread. Shall 
I think he has given me a stone? 2 I have asked him for the 
Spirit of truth. Shall I think he has put me off with the spirit of 
delusion V 

This letter illustrates the true character of Christian confidence, 
as exclusively based upon the word of God. It is independent of 
external excitement. It is the reliance of faith upon the immutable 
engagements of Divine faithfulness. Much that passes under this 
name is the assurance of feeling, rather than of faith. The con- 
solations of the Gospel are believed, not because they are declared, 
but because they are felt. Hence, when the comfort is lost, the 
ground of confidence is destroyed. This, however, is an inversion 
of the scriptural rule — walking by sight, not by faith 3 — unlike a 
tried saint of old, who when "walking in darkness, and having no 
light," had learnt to "stay himself upon his God" — "Though he 
slay me, yet will I trust in him." 4 

Any encouragement, however, to be drawn from a past operation 
of faith must be carefully connected with its present exercise. Its 
first effort indeed linked the Christian's heart in indissoluble union 
with his Saviour. Yet the principle must not be confined to a 
single act, by which at some former time he came to Christ. It is 
rather the continued habit of the soul, by which he is " coming" 5 
to Christ in constant motion. In Miss Graham's case, the earnest- 
ness and intensity of her mind clearly marked the active though 
unconscious influence of the habit of faith, even while her recollec- 
tion was fixed — perhaps too exclusively — upon some former and 
determinate exercise. 

But was Miss Graham warranted in her strong assurance, in a 
state of conscious and acknowledged backsliding? When we con- 
sider the character of her religion — self-suspicious, jealous of declen- 
sion, earnestly longing for communion with God, content with no 
ordinary measure of conformity to the Divine image, we shall not 
be disposed to accuse her of presumption, or of a loose and careless 
profession. Hers was not a paralyzing security — a self-indulgent 

M Peter iv. 19. 2 Luke xi. 11— 13. 3 2 Cor. v. 7. 

4 Isa. i. 10. Job xiii. 15. 6 1 Peter ii. 4. Comp. Gal. ii. 20. 



MEMOIR OF MARY JANE GRAHAM. 119 

repose — but an habitual quickness of spiritual discernment, and 
dutiful watchfulness. It was probably her intense solicitude for 
higher conformity to her Lord, that induced her, like holy Bradford, 
to pass this severe judgment upon herself, in the deep consciousness 
of her infinite distance from the ultimate point of attainment, and 
her sometimes apparent contrariety to it. Iniquity felt and iniquity 
allowed, are, however, essentially different. When allowed, the soul 
is benumbed and blinded in comparative unconsciousness. When 
hated, the sensibility of its defilements is so keen, and the apprehen- 
sions of its guilt so afflicting, that even in a state of conscious accept- 
ance, the soul is constrained to " write bitter things" against itself. 
The prostrate humiliating confessions of that holy saint of the 
Reformation just alluded to, in no dqgree hindered the peaceful rest 
of his soul upon the engagements of the faithfulness and love of his 
God. 

We could not indeed but strongly discountenance an assured 
confidence in a state of open sin, or in any habitually allowed incon- 
sistency with a Christian profession. Yet we are persuaded that a 
personal assurance has often proved the only chain of love, that has 
restrained the backslider from total apostasy — from saying, " There 
is no hope — for I have loved strangers, and after them will I go." 1 
Often, too, has it been the appointed means of conviction and 
recovery from backsliding. A realized sense of a Father's love, in 
the tenderness and wisdom of merited chastening, has pierced many 
a rebellious child with contrite sorrow 7 , and has brought him back 
to his Father's feet with simplicity, gratitude, and confidence. 
While humbled under the most distressing consciousness of back- 
sliding, he is yet encouraged by the remembrance, that the principle 
and warrant of assurance is not in himself, and that his ground of 
confidence is unchangeably the same. ' I see,' said Miss Graham 
on one occasion. \ that God is my God in covenant. He is un- 
changeable though I continually vary.' 

The duty and importance of an elevated enjoyment of scrip- 
tural privelege, are delightfully inculcated in the following letter: — 

'What a privilege,' she observes, (speaking of a blessed saint 

now in heaven) has Mrs. ! to be walking so closely with God, 

and enjoying so much of his presence. " Oh ! that I" thus always 
" knew where I might find him, that I might come even to his 
seat !" But I never had so little of his presence as now, and if it 
sometimes returns for a moment, the emotions of my mind seem 
almost more than I can bear, so that I dread, even w T hile I long for, 
their recurrence. The true remedy for all this would be, that set- 
tled quiet peace, which is the effect of the righteousness of Christ. 
But this I want faith to lay hold of as my own. I have been sur- 
prised lately at the slighting and almost suspicion, with which 
friends appear to look upon spiritual peace and joy, as if it were 

» Jer. ii. 25. 



120 MEMOIR OF MARY JANE GRAHAM. 

rather a snare to be guarded against, than a privilege to be sought 
after. Yet surely — " Rejoice in the Lord always, and again I say, 
rejoice," 1 — is as much a command as — " Thou shalt not kill — Thou 
shalt not steal." And I know nothing except this "joy of the 
Lord," which is said to be "our strength," 2 that can so fill the 
heart, as to leave no room for rejoicing in self or in the world. And 
do you not think, that the more of this holy joy is " shed abroad in 
the heart," the more godly sorrow will dwell there ? At least I 
find it to be so. They seem to me to be inseparable companions in 
our experience on earth. Were I to mention the sweetest ingredient 
in the cup of joy or sorrow (I scarcely know which to call it) that 
we are permitted to taste here ; it would be the melting of the 
heart, springing from the sense of that immeasurable un worthi- 
ness, which gives us some faint conception how low Christ has 
stooped to save us ! Why then, should it be thought presumptuous 
to desire an abundant measure of the very thing which we are 
commanded to have? Why should this desire for "this peace of 
God which passeth all understanding," be construed into a de- 
pendence upon frames and feelings ? 

1 Sometimes I think we might have almost as much joy as there 
is in heaven, if we had but a holy boldness to ask for it, and to re- 
ceive. We are not straitened in Christ ; " but we are straitened 
in our own bowels ;" so that, because joy is an undeserved guest 
in a heart defiled by sin, we dare not receive it as a lawful guest, 
though this heart has been cleansed with the blood of Jesus. But 
what will it be, my dearest friend, to open our eyes upon that 
world, where "perfect love casteth out fear" 3 forever? I try to 
conceive it sometimes, but I cannot. There is nothing I find so dif- 
ficult, as to imagine entire deliverance from the spirit of bondage. 
What will it be, to be " face to face" with Christ ; " to see him as 
he is ;" 4 to "see the King in his beauty," 5 in "His own glory, in 
his Father's glory ;" and yet to look iqion him without fear ! We 
had need have these earthly tabernacles taken down first ; as they 
never could sustain it. And yet this is that death, at which even re- 
newed human nature shrinks ; though, if we could view it aright, 
it is but the shutting out of fear, and the letting in of perfect love 
forever.' 

It is indeed to be feared, as Miss Graham has observed, that 
there is a class of professors among us, who depreciate the glowing 
exercises of Christian feeling. Their religion is rather of an intel- 
lectual, than of a spiritual character. They reason, explain, de- 
monstrate, vindicate. But they are cautious of extremes. They 
realize the seriousness, importance, and restraints of the Gospel, 
rather than its high privileges and constraining obligations. The 
exercise of their judgments, from this defect of a deep influence of 

! Phil. iv. 4. 1 Thess. v. 16. 2 Neh. viii. 10. 3 i j h n iv. 18 

4 Ibid. iii. 2. Rev. xxii. 4. 5 Isa. xxxiii. 17. 



MEMOIR OF MARY JANE GRAHAM. 121 

spiritual religion, materially checks the healthful and animating 
glow of their affections. Their views of the fundamental doctrines 
are generally orthodox, and they maintain a correct external de- 
portment. But they appear to have a scanty enjoyment of that 
new-created taste and element of pleasure, which is connected with 
the revelation of the glory of God in the soul. They seem to be 
little conversant with the varied exercises of a devotional habit of 
mind — such as holy delight in communion with God, lively contem- 
plation of the Saviour, spiritual meditation and enjoyment of the 
sacred word, and heavenly aspiration of soul. Their ordinary con- 
versation on religion is restrained from that intimate and free com- 
munication on spiritual sympathies, which infuses mutual warmth, 
refreshment, and energy in the endeavor, like Jonathan and David, 
to "strengthen each other's hands in God i" 1 to unite in a closer in- 
tercourse with our Divine Saviour, and to invigorate our purposes 
of consecration to his service. 

Such persons seem too little to consider the strong and important 
connection of religion with the affections. But it is only their 
lively and powerful exercise, that is at all proportioned to the vast 
expanse and grandeur of the subject. We find, therefore, that re- 
ligion in heaven, where it exists in its most refined purity and per- 
fection, is much engaged in the delightful affections of joy and love, 
and in the fervent expressions of these feelings in everlasting praise. 
The scriptural exhibition of religion also, in the records of the most 
eminent servants of God, and in the rich display of the promises 
of Christ, is of the same glowing character. 

The religion of the " man after God's heart" was a religion of 
the affections. Every natural affection of his soul was filled with 
God. In his book of Psalms, written with the pen of inspiration 
for the public use of the church, we behold him — not describing the 
proper individualities of his own experience ; but leading the wor- 
ship of the universal church in the expression of deep humiliation, 
holy admiration, fervent love and joy in his God, earnest thirstings 
and pantings for his presence, delight in his ordinances, devout ac- 
knowledgments for his unbounded mercy, and exulting triumph in 
his faithful love. The book of Canticles also — however we may 
refrain from a minute consideration of some of its imagery — ex- 
hibits those vigorous exercises of spiritual affections, which are con- 
sonant to the experience of the lively Christian, and which excite 
in him no common measure of admiring, trusting, and grateful 
love to his Divine Saviour. The corresponding New Testament 
development of our privileges embraces those high and heavenly 
blessings, which draw out the affections of the soul into exciting 
employment — such as "peace with God ;" constant "access" to his 
presence and favor; " rejoicing in hope of his glory; glorying in 
tribulations," as the pathway thither ; " the love of God shed abroad 
in the heart ;" and " the enjoyment of God through our Lord Jesus 

1 1 Sam. xxiii. 16. 



122 MEMOIR OF MARY JANE GRAHAM. 

Christ ;" all of which are presented to us in a single view, as our 
present portion and source of happiness. 1 

If, therefore, we acknowledge the Gospel in its faith and obliga- 
tions, while defectively apprehending and estimating its privileges — ■ 
if our judgment has been informed and established without a full 
and habitual exercise of the affections, we stand convicted of an 
imperfect reception of Christ, and of realizing only a partial interest 
in his unspeakably rich enjoyments. The class of professors, to 
whom we more immediately allude, are little aware of the extent of 
loss to their own souls, or of evil to the church, from their neglect 
of seating religion more deeply and powerfully in their affections. 
The spiritual tone of their religion is materially deteriorated. The 
refreshing influence of the ordinances is weakened. The Holy 
Comforter is restrained in his intimate communion with their souls. 
A want of tender sensibility for the most part characterizes their 
profession. The careless but discerning world mark no perceptible 
elevation of heavenly character, and are led to think that the pro- 
mised privileges of the Gospel are a delusive paradise. And pro- 
fessors of their own class gladly take shelter under this lower 
standard of the cross, as a respectable evangelical religion, precluding 
them from many inconvenient, sacrifices, to which a more decided 
exhibition of Christian devotedness might have subjected them. 

This restraint, upon the affections brings us therefore into a lower 
atmosphere of the Gospel, unvisited with the full power of its holy 
influence. This may readily account for that conformity to the 
principles, habits, and conversation of the world, which to a con- 
siderable extent is connected with an evangelical profession. The 
enlivening power of faith, operating through the medium of the 
affections, would secure a triumphant victory in every form of 
worldly conflict, 2 and enable the disciples now, as in times past, 
boldly to confess their Master's name, 3 to glory in his cross, 4 and to 
delight in his service. 5 But this is the " one thing" that is too often 
" lacking :" and for which, as a principle of entire consecration to 
Christ, no substitute can be found. 

Let us not, however, while insisting upon the connection of the 
Gospel with the affections, be supposed to advocate a religion of 
impulse or sensation. We are aware that excited feelings are no 
proof of holy affections. Much that passes under the name of re- 
ligious feeling, is the ebb and flow of the animal emotions, wholly 
unconnected with a spiritual principle. Those emotions alone are 
of Divine origin, on which practical holiness is ingrafted ; and which 
are not sought for the pleasurable excitement of the moment, but as 
a medium for the exercise of heavenly affections, and for the exhibi- 
tion of self-denying obedience. We remember also, that the first 
excitement of a religious feeling is very different from that feeling, 
as a fixed habit of the mind under the control of a sound judgment. 
The example of the primitive Christians leads us to combine intelli- 

I Rom. v. 1—5, 11. 2 John v. 4, 5. 3 Acts iv. 19, 20. 

* Gal. vi. 14. 5 Acts xx. 24 : xxii. 13. 






MEMOIR OF MARY JANE GRAHAM. 123 

gence and energy with feeling, and therefore to suspect the most 
delightful emotions, which do not bring the steady light from heaven 
into the daily path, which do not communicate vigor, activity, and 
decision to the character, and that are not connected with a dedica- 
tion of the whole man to the service of God. Religion is the dominant 
practical principle in the soul ; and its practical results are the legiti- 
mate evidence of the genuineness of the principle. Any encourage- 
ment from the past exercise of the affections, irrespective of their 
present practical influence , must therefore be discountenanced : and 
even this influence satisfactorily ascertained must be controlled by 
the dictates of a spiritually enlightened judgment. We would 
call the judgment into constant exercise, under the influence of 
Christian motives. We would regulate J; the spirit of love" under 
the control of " the spirit of a sound mind." 1 We would have 
"love" always to "abound in knowledge and in all judgment." 
Only let it "abound yet more and more." 12 Let it not be chilled, 
damped, fettered. Let us guard against that frosty elevation of 
intellect, which seems to regard religion as an Alpine plant, the 
growth only of a cold climate. Let us not separate it from that 
exciting glow of love, in which we are quickened to a sense of our 
obligations, sustained under our daily trials, and are raised in our 
present privileges and prospective anticipations above the baneful 
influence of " the course" and spirit " of this world." ' 3 

Constitutional causes must, however, be well considered, while 
insisting upon the strong influence of religion upon the affections. 
Intellectual character is not always imbued with natural sensibili- 
ties ; while on the other hand a sympathetic tone of character is 
easily excited. It is obvious that both these require larger measures 
of Divine influence — the one, that the man may enter into the 
delight of Christian feeling — the other, that natural tenderness may 
be braced up to firmness and stability : in both cases — that they 
may judge each other charitably. But " the love of God must be 
shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost"* or we are not, we 
cannot be, Christians. 

We would beg, however, shortly to advert to a depreciation of 

i 2 Tim. i. 7. 2 Phil. i. 9. 

3 Miss Graham's view of scriptural sobriety, as distinguished from lukewarmness and 
enthusiasm, is most just and discriminating — ' I do not mean,' she observes in her manu- 
script, ' by sobriety, a spirit of temporizing worldly prudence. I speak of faat staid con- 
siderate frame of mind, which has its source in the full and calm assurance of the under- 
standing — that maturity of judgment, which, without checking the fiery chariot of zeal, di- 
rects its course in the high road of consistency. Lukewarmness is, however, far more hate- 
ful than enthusiasm. The fault ofthe heart is more dangerous than the error of the head. 
Yet are the flights of enthusiasm most hurtful. Instead of displaying the fair countenance 
of religion, they present us with a distorted caricature of every feature. The world is 
ready enough to mistake this for her true likeness, and to ridicule her for what is not her 
own. " The offence ofthe cross" is already a sufficient stumbling-block in the way of 
the irreligious. We need not add to it the ill-judged singularity of our own conduct. 
If we walk closely with God, that will make us singular enough. We shall certainly be 
regarded as enthusiastic. In this solitary instance, let us not be what we seem. We are 
especially commanded to "be sober," to "add to our faith knowledge;" and the Spirit, 
who is our teacher and guide, is " the spirit of a sound mind." (I Peter i. 13; iv. 7; 
v. 8. 2 Peter i. 5. 2 Tim. i. 7.) * Romans v. 5. 



124 MEMOIR OF MARY JANE GRAHAM. 

scriptural privilege of a very different character. There are some 
who stand even upon lower ground than intellectual professors. 
They are satisfied with a small portion of spiritual enjoyment, and 
even that this modicum should be occasional, not constant. They 
have no conception of any internal religion answering to the wrest- 
ling " violence," by which " the kingdom of heaven is taken by 
force." 1 The warmth of first impressions subsides as a matter of 
course ; not however into a matured and solid effectiveness, but into 
lukewarmness and inertion. If they be the children of God in a 
Laodicean state, they will probably be roused by sharp afflictions, to 
a zealous and penitent profession of their Master's name, and by 
this wise and loving dispensation, they will be quickened to hear the 
voice of their Lord, and introduced into the full enjoyment of 
communion with him. 2 It is, however, evident, that every form 
of the indulgence of sloth, every allowance of unbelief, and the 
influence of obscure apprehension of the Gospel, operate prejudicially 
to the interests of the churcSi and of true religion. For thus religion 
is presented to the world in a false and unattractive garb ; the 
standard of holiness is lowered in the defect of that enlivening sense 
of redeeming love, which conciliates, engages, and captivates the 
heart ; little is known of that support of the promises of God, which 
overbalances all difficulties, real and imaginary, and adds more to 
the enjoyment of life, than suffering can take away. This evil 
will be generally traced, except in cases of moral delinquency or 
constitutional weakness, to the secret root of self-righteousness. 
The simplicity of faith in the contemplation of its great object is 
obscured by an undue and unevangelical dependence upon evidences. 
These, though they have their legitimate use as the confirmation 
of our hope, 3 must have no connection with its foundation. When 
the perception of clear evidence is deficient (as in times of temptation 
especially is often the case ;) faith, leaning upon this ever-changing 
support, becomes uncertain, unsettled, and unfruitful. Whereas 
under the darkest destitution of internal sources of comfort, the 
offer, invitation, encouragement and promise of the Gospel, addressed 
to shiners, is an unfailing and sufficient warrant, such as nothing 
in ourselves can make more complete. Let, then, faith be distinctly 
and explicitely exercised. Let clear apprehensions of the ground of 
comfort be diligently sought. Let the testimony of the word, not 
the feelings of our heart, be the foundation of our hope. Let Christ 
be regarded as the only fountain of life, light, and consolation. 
Thus will "Grace and peace be multiplied unto us through the 
knowledge of God, and of Jesus our Lord." 4 

We close this section with giving at some length, and with in- 
teresting variety of illustration, Miss Graham's sentiments upon 
Conformity to the World — a subject of vital moment to the integrity, 
consistency, and fruitful ness of the Christian profession. 

1 Matt. xi. 12. 2 See Rev. iii. 19, 20. 

3 See the Epistle of St. John. See p. 98. 4 2 Peter i. 2. 






MEMOIR OF MARY JANE GRAHAM. 125 

The first letter commences with a few remarks, not immediately 
relevant to the subject, but which will be read with interest. 

1 Stoke, Feb. 21, 1827. 

■ It seems to me that all the Lord's dealings with his redeemed 
childen speak this language — " Cease ye from man." 1 Put not 
your trust in any earthly comforter. Lean not on any arm but the 
arm of your Beloved. " For the hearts of the people" of this world 
11 are full of idols." Self is the great idol, that is loved and honored 
more than God. Then comes a multitude of lesser things, all 
subservient to this one ; and if some little corner in the heart is 
reserved for God, or if the shadow of a throne is set up, where He 
may sit on solemn occasions, at the pleasure of the great idol, then 
they think all is going on well, and God loved as much as he could 
reasonably expect to be loved by creatures, who have such a press 
of business on their hands. But, my beloved friend, we may not 
do so. God, who has purchased us for his own inheritance, will 
have our whole heart and our whole dependence ; and though we 
must rejoice in the friends He gives us, yet we must not think we 
cannot do without them ; or that we should go on better, if we had 
more of their help. Christ is all-sufficient, and teaches, comforts, 
and reproves in His own time and way, and by His own means, 
without any need of our direction. In looking back to every event 
of my life, since I have known something of the grace of God, I 
find that there never has been anything on which I very much 
depended, but God has straightway removed or imbittered that 
thing, or in some way made it useless to me, till I returned to place 
my whole dependence on Him. But let us not accuse our dearest 
Lord of acting unkindly towards us in sending these disappoint- 
ments ; for he only takes away other helps and props, to make room 
for himself. He loves us too well to suffer any rival in our affections. 

1 1 have read your dear letter over and over, and scarcely know 
how to answer it, or what to make of it. Oh that you had some 
better counsellor than I ! for I know not how to advise you. I fear 
lest you should think me strict and gloomy, if I tell you all I think ; 
but I will tell you, since you desire it. ; and I know that God is both 
able and willing to give you joys so much superior to every worldly 
amusement, that you will wonder you could ever think them worth 
a thought. I must say then, that the world and worldly amuse- 
ments, appear to me quite inconsistent with the character of a real 
Christian ; and that we never can enjoy happy converse with God 
till we give them up. The Christian is described in the Scriptures, 
as " the temple of the living God." 2 Now where the holy God takes 
up his abode, surely that heart must be sanctified and set apart 
from every common use, and wholly devoted to his service. But 
can God and the world reign in the same heart, or as it were reign 
by turns ? Shall we admit the Lord of glory in the morning, and 
shut Him out in the evening, w T hile we are going to a ball or a play ? 
i Isaiah ii. 22. 2 2 Cor. vi. 16. 



126 MEMOIR OF MARY JANE GRAHAM. 

for we may be well assured, He will not go with us there. The 
spirit of the world, which reigns in such places, is quite opposite to 
His Spirit ; and " the friendship of the world,'' which is there sought, 
" is enmity with God." 1 I know this would be called uncharitable ; 
but I do not wish to be more charitable than the Bible. And surelv 
experience proves it to be true ; for, go into any fashionable assembly 
whatever, and there begin to speak of those things of which we 
ought to talk, " when we are sitting in the house, and when we 
walk by the way, and when we lie down, and when we rise up ;" 2 
and see if politeness itself can suppress a smile at your strange and 
unwarrantable impertinence, in forcing the attention of the company 
to subjects, which they are met for the very purpose of forgetting. 
No, my dear friend, that cannot be a proper place for a Christian, 
where religion is the thing that must not be named ; and where 
even something in our hearts will tell us, that such subjects are out 
of place. Neither can you say — your own heart may be as well 
employed there as elsewhere ; for the most delightful meditation on 
heavenly things (if we could thus meditate in the midst of vanity) 
would be spoiled by the thought, that there were none who enjoyed 
like communion with ourselves; we should soon have to "seek, 
with Joseph, a place to weep in/' 3 to weep over our companions and 
friends, who are thus '-feeding on ashes," delighting themselves in 
things which cannot profit. The fact is, when Christians are at a 
place of worldly amusement (if Christians are to be found, who will 
venture themselves so unguardedly into Satan's strong places,) they 
must either have heavenly thoughts, (and then the amusement 
would appear so vapid, disgusting, and uninteresting, that they 
would never be able to stay it out ;) or else, if the amusement is an 
amusement to them, it fills their hearts with a crowd of vain 
thoughts, shuts out Christ, and lets in self and the world, and so 
prepares room for doubts, and fears, and much bitter repentance, 
before the Spirit will again shine upon a heart, which has so wan- 
tonly despised His grace. But many will say — ' All this may take 
place if we stay at home ; our worldly hearts may let in many 
intruders there ; and we may be compelled to own, that we should 
have been as well at any place of public resort, as in our own room, 
with no one to talk to but our own heart.' This, I confess, is our 
shame and misery — that we are so often entangled in vain and 
worldly thoughts. But surely it does but make the argument 
stronger against indulging in anything which tends to foment such 
thoughts. If we are so weak, why go into temptation, against 
which the strongest have not been able to stand? We may fall 
into a worldly frame of mind in the absence of any worldly pleas- 
ures ; but, because we have got a cruel enemy within, shall we go 
and expose ourselves to the attacks of the enemy from without? 
Let us at least have the comfort of not having gone in quest of our 
misery. Temptations enough will come to us ; let us not go to 
them. Besides, it seems to me but mocking " our Father which is 
1 James iv. 4. 2 Peut. vi. 7. 3 Genesis xliii. 30. 






MEMOIR OF MARY JANE GRAHAM. 127 

in heaven" — to say, one hour — " Lead us not into temptation" 1 — 
when we have coolly made up our mind to rush into it the next. 
From the evil of such a temptation, can we hope that he will 
deliver us ? Let me draw your attention to the important precept 
of our Lord — "Let your loins be girded about,, and your lights burn- 
ing ; and ye yourselves like unto men that wait for their Lord, 
when he will return from the wedding ; that when he cometh and 

knocketh, they may open to him immediately !" 2 Now, dear , 

I am sure you would not choose, that your Lord should come for 
you, while engaged in worldly amusements ; nor would you feel, 
that he found you watching ; nor would you be ready to " open 
immediately ;" but would rather ask time to collect your scattered 
thoughts, and trim your wasted lamp. If we were to ask the 
blessed in heaven, or the tormented in hell, what they think of such 
employments, would not the one smile with pity at the question, 
and the other exclaim with rage — ' Oh that I had but one of those 
hours you are thus throwing away ! You should see whether I 
would let the precious moments pass in such vanities as these.' 
Forgive me, if I have said too much. Indeed I should tremble for 
you, going into such a difficult situation, if I did not know, that God 
can take as much care of you there, as in a more retired place. 

'- 1 do earnestly desire, that the blessing of a single eye and undi- 
vided heart may be yours. There is no comfort in being an unde- 
cided Christian ; and Christ himself has declared that such a char- 
acter is hateful to him. 3 But this will not be the case with you : 
He who has helped you thus far, will go on leading you by the 
hand, till He has brought you to glory. You ask me, ' How are 
we to wean our hearts from the world V I know no other answer 
but that which the Scripture gives. 4 A believing view of Jesus 
must make the world look dark and insignificant : and whenever 
we begin to love it too much, we have only to apply to Him, who 
has said to us, " Be of good cheer ; I have overcome the world ;" 5 
and His mighty power shall be put forth to enable us to overcome 
it also. I used to make many resolutions against a worldy spirit, 
and try many ways to break myself to it ; and these resolutions 
were repeatedly broken ; but now I have but one way ; I try to 
take my heart to Jesus, believing that the victory is already mine 
for His sake. 'Lord, thou hast promised, that "sin shall not have 
dominion over me." 6 Thou hast said, that every one that is " born 
of thee overcometh the world." Fulfil thy gracious promise, and 
make me " more than conqueror" in thy might! Thou hast "given 
thyself for my sins, that thou mightest deliver me from this present 
world ;" 7 and wilt thou now leave me to be taken captive by this 

evil world V O dear , the faithful God must become like unto 

lying, promise-breaking man, before He can refuse to help his ser- 
vants, who thus cast themselves on His word of promise ; and dis- 
claim all wisdom, strength, and goodness but His. The world and 

1 Matthew vi. 13. 2 Luke xii. 35—37. 3 Rev. iii. 15, 16. * 1 John iv. 4; v. 4, 5. 
5 John xvi. 33. 6 Romans vi. 14. * Galatians i. 4. 



128 MEMOIR OF MARY JANE GRAHAM. 

the things of the world, as " a strong man armed, who keepeth his 
goods in peace," must continue to have possession of our hearts, till 
Christ, who is " stronger than" the world, breaks in, and claims the 
house of the strong man, as a mansion for His Spirit to dwell 
in. 1 Cast yourself, then, without fear upon the free mercy of God 
in Christ Jesus. The more worldly and wicked you feel yourself 
to be, the more He is concerned to show His power and faithfulness 
in saving you from your worldliness and wickedness.' 

The next letter upon the same subject was written shortly af- 
terwards, to another correspondent, whom she regarded with the 
most lively affection, as having been made instrumental in commu- 
nicating to her soul the knowledge and love of her Saviour. 

1 March 22, 1827. 
'You must, I think, have misunderstood my meaning about 
worldly company and amusements. Let us but have a right mo- 
tive for doing so ; and I think we may safely go into any company 
whatever. The word of God affords us two valuable rules for all 
our actions, and if we could set them always before our eyes, I be- 
lieve we should seldom be at a loss as to the conduct we ought to 
pursue : " Whether, therefore, ye eat or drink, or whatsoever ye do, 
do all to the glory of God. And — whatsoever ye do, in word or 
deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God 
and the Father by Him." 2 Let us then always ask ourselves, be- 
fore we set about any study, or employment, or enter into any com- 
pany — ' Am I doing this " to the glory of God V Is it my sole, or 
at least my principal motive? Can I "do it in the name of 
the Lord Jesus ?" Can I boldly say — it is such an action as 
he would approve of? And can I look up to Him all the time I 
am doing it, for his sanction and blessing?' If you can answer 
this question satisfactorily, the action, whatever it be, must be 
right ; and there can be no danger attending the performance of 
it. If, on the contrary, your mind recoils from even asking such a 
question, be assured that there is something wrong in it, and that 
you would do well to give it up. It is a hard lesson to our carnal 
hearts, but one which the love of Jesus can make easy to us ; that 
from the moment we take refuge at the cross of Jesus, and are 
" washed from our sins in his blood" — from that happy moment 
we are " no longer our own," and must make it our one business to 
" glorify God in our body and spirit, which are God's." 3 This 
seems to me the great and marked distinction between the Chris- 
tian and the worlding. The one lives to himself; the other "to 
Him who died for him and rose again." 4 The one consults his own 
pleasure, ease, and safety, " leans to his own understanding," and 
seeks his own glory. The other prays, that his will may be quite 
swallowed up in the will of Jesus ; "ceases from his own wisdom," 
and makes " Christ his wisdom." He no longer " receives the 

i Luke xi. 21, 22. 2 i Cor. x. 31. Colossians iii. 17. 

3 I Cor. vi. 19, 20. 4 2 Cor. v. 14, 15. 



MEMOIR OF MARY JANE GRAHAM. 129 

honor which cometh of men ;" but desires that Christ, the Author 
of all his good things, may have all the glory of them. His fleshly 
nature, or — as St. Paul calls it, the old man, strives hard against 
this, and would lead him to please and honor himself again ; and 
this is the great conflict between the flesh and the spirit, which 
makes the Christian life so truly called a warfare. This conflict 
has already begun in you, my dearest friend, and will never cease 
till death takes you from sense and self, to where you shall see 
Jesus as he is, and wonder that you could ever prefer anything to 
Him. No wonder you find it a hard and strange conflict. Parting 
with self-seeking, self-honoring, and self-righteousness, is far more 
painful than cutting off a right hand, or plucking out a right eye. 
"With man, indeed, this is impossible ; but with" Jesus "all things 
are possible." Taking this consideration with us, then, that Christ 
— not self — is to be the end of all our actions, and that " w r hether 
we eat or drink," or speak, go in or out, or are alone or in company, 
engaged in study or recreation, w 7 e must " do all to the glory of 
God," and "in the name of the Lord Jesus" — I think it will give us 
a very different view of our duty as to worldly company and em- 
ployments, from any that worldly wisdom or policy can give us. 

It cannot be, however, for the glory of God, that w T e should show 
ourselves morose and unsociable. The friends and relations w& 
have are His gifts, and therefore must not be despised or neglected. 
Besides, we ought to bear in mind, that the. redeemed of Christ are 
" the salt of the earth." " a peculiar people," created anew in Christ 
Jesus for the very purpose of " showing forth his praises : M1 and how 
can we do this, if we shut ourselves out altogether from the world 1 
It is false humility, which makes us say, ' I can never do any good' 
— for the meaner the instrument, the more is the glory of God dis- 
played in doing good with it ; and as it is all God's doing and not 
ours, we have no reason to be proud of it, but rather to be abased at 
the sight of our own unfitness. I own to you. that I consider it the 
greatest blessing to a worldly family to have even one Christian 
among them (though I know they think it a sad interruption) : for 
who can tell, but God may hear the prayers and tears of that one, 
and make him or her the messenger of peace to the rest? Thus 
far, then, I think it must be right to go into worldly company, in 
the discharge of relative duties not plainly inconsistent with the 
word of God ; or to avail ourseJ \<*s of any providential opportuni- 
ties of Christian usefulness. Let us, however, be careful, that our 
own spiritual state is not affected by it ; for we can never be re- 
quired to enter into any things to the hurt of our own souls. But 
on the other hand, my dear friend, I think, if we really love Christ, 
this occasional mixing with worldly company will be rather a sacri- 
fice than a pleasure to us. For think what it is to go amongst 
worldly people " in the name of the Lord Jesus," and " to the glory 
of our God." Even if we do not feel ourselves called on to speak 
to them directly on the subject ; still if we keep this aim in view 

1 Matt. v. 13. Eph. ii. 10. 1 Peter ii. 9. 
9 



130 MEMOIR OF MARY JANE GRAHAM. 

in how many little things must we show that our sentiments are 
opposite to theirs ! And if they know that we profess religion, we 
may be almost sure that they view us with secret dislike and con- 
tempt ; for u the carnal heart is" and always will be " enmity 
against God" and his people. I have seldom been into worldly com- 
pany, without feeling either very uncomfortable all the time I was 
in it, or very unhappy as soon as I came out of it ; for if God en- 
abled me to keep his glory in view, the sight of so many souls 
perishing in a vain confidence of their own safety ; the sense of my 
inability to speak properly to them ; the consciousness that in many 
cases at least they would gladly have dispensed with my company, 
all these things could not but make me uncomfortable — not un- 
happy ; because, supposing that I was in the clear path of duty 
— in the midst of vain company and sad reflections, I could still 
hold communion with Jesus. But when I lost sight of this great 

end, O dear , I wish I could point to you the anguish I have 

endured, that you might avoid dishonoring your Saviour as I have 
done ! Very, very often this has been my wretched case : — c What 
will people think of me, if I set up to be so much better than others V 
This ensnaring question has often made me put on a levity of senti- 
ment and manner, which I did not at first feel, but which, persisted 
in, has become real ; and I have been in heart as well as in appear- 
ance, the worldliest of the worldly. And even when I have re- 
turned home, God has often seen fit to visit this sin, by leaving me 
still to backslide in heart, and to be " rilled with my own ways f l 
and when I have come to myself, (for he has never quite left me, 
nor ever will) how can I describe the bitterness of thinking, that I 
had done dishonor to the cause of my Only Friend, lost the heav- 
enly sense of His redeeming love, missed many opportunities of 
saying a word which he might have blessed, and by my light and 
foolish conduct given occasion to the world to think, that religion 
was a thing in word only, not in power ! 

1 1 have told you my experience ; but 1 believe it is more or less 
what every Christian feels ; only few have been so very guilty in 
this respect as I have Even now, though I know, that all these 
sins are washed away in my Redeemer's blood, I cannot reflect 
without the deepest self-abhorrence on the vain and foolish conduct 

I often indulged in at , particularly the sin of evil speaking, 

which I gave way to there more than anywhere. I might add, 
that of sabbath-breaking. Do not think that I mean to lay it to 
their charge ; oh ! no ; I only mean, that by going into the so- 
ciety of worldly people, if I may so say, without my armor on, I 
became as vain as they, and much more sinful ; because I sinned 
against light and grace. Surely, then, if we consider these draw- 
backs, worldly people will not be our chosen companions ; and 
we shall go among them, when we do, as a duty rather than a 
pleasure. 

i With regard to the theatre, and amusements of this kind, Chris- 
1 Prov. xiv. 14. 



MEMOIR OF MARY JANE GRAHAM. 131 

tians must have little to do, if they can find time for them. But if 
they could find time, I confess I am at a loss to see what pleasure 
they can find there. Are not the sentiments usually uttered in 
such places quite in opposition to the precepts of God's word ? Are 
not pride, vain-glory, self-destruction, hatred, dissipation, unlawful 
attachments, held up to our admiration in many theatrical compo- 
sitions, considered as trivial faults in most of them, and detested 
upon right principles in none ? You profess, as a Christian, to 
make Jesus your happiness. What can you find here to bring you 
into communion with him 1 You profess to make his glory your 
aim? Can you then sit with complacency, and hear a company 
of your fellow-creatures with immortal souls, uttering sentiments 
which only tend to make them despise Christ and his ways ? But 

I will leave the subject, dear , only adding, that I do not wish 

you to give up this amusement from what I say, but from the set- 
tled conviction of your own mind, after prayer for Divine teaching. 
If then you find, that you can neither "do it to the glory of God, 
or in the name of Jesus," I will not try to dissuade you from it. I 
was once induced to attend 'Matthews at Home,' and shall never 
forget the sensation I felt, when he told us how his father, who was 
a good kind of man, but too religions, had tried to keep him from 
coming on the stage. When I looked round, and saw the merri- 
ment expressed in every face, I could not help saying to myself — 
' This is no place for me ; there are no lovers of Christ here ; for 
"charity rejoiceth not in iniquity," 1 as these poor deluded people 
are doing.' 

'And now, my dearest friend, I have proposed many privations 
to you ; and what have I to offer you in return ? Nothing but the 
love of Jesus ; nay, this is yours already ; for if you are enabled to 
give these things up, it will be — not that he may love you, but be- 
cause he has loved you. The blessed spirits above want nothing 
else to make them happy , and we soon hope to taste their happi- 
ness ;■ but if it cannot make us happy here, then heaven itself 
would not make us happy. Oh let us pray for this love ! Let us 
cast off the spirit of bondage, and not come to God, as slaves, who 
'must serve him ; but as his redeemed children, who love to serve 
him, and who find his " service perfect freedom." Let us pray that 
more of " the love of God may be shed abroad in our hearts." Let 
us beseech the Holy Ghost to " take of the things of Jesus, and 
show them to us." Let us study all the sweet relations in which 
he has revealed himself to us in the Scriptures — Father, brother, 
friend, husband, lover. Here is a perpetual and rational study for 
us ; and the more we follow it, the sweeter we shall find it. It is 
but a little ray of this love that as yet has warmed my heart ; yet 
I can tell you, dearest and most beloved friend, that it is worth re- 
nouncing ten thousand worlds for. The Lord Jesus has sometimes 
drawn near to me with such unspeakable sweetness, that I have 
thought all the lovely relations of life, — father, husband, friend, — > 

1 1 Corinthians xiii. 6, 



132 MEMOIR OF MARY JANE GRAHAM. 

had no beauty in them, except as they served to shadow forth the 
immense love of our reconciled God in Him, and the near and in- 
timate communion, to which he admits his chosen and redeemed 
people. O my friend, he has chosen you ! What a wonder of love 
is here ! He has redeemed you, at the price of his own precious 
blood, "from this evil world." 1 Will you linger in it any longer? 
God forbid ! May the Spirit of God " fill you with such peace and 
joy in believing," as may make the world and the things of it ap- 
pear to you in their true light ! Remember, this is not your home. 
" We are strangers and pilgrims" here. Let not the world see, that 
the joys of the love of Christ, and communion with him, are not 
enough to occupy us, without having recourse to the many vain 
and trifling ways they have invented of killing time, and driving 
eternity out of their thoughts. If we want strength, there is ful- 
ness of strength and grace treasured up for us in Jesus : and we 
have only to seek it by earnest prayer. I wish you would pray for 
more experience of his love to you. This would convince you, more 
than all the arguments in the world, of the vanity of everything, 
which can tend to divert your mind from him. In seeking his love 
you may be able to say with Jacob — " I will not let thee go, except 
thou bless me !" 2 — I shall look for your next very anxiously. Do 
not let these words, ' affected,' 'precise,' 'hypocrite/ 'enthusiast/ 
' fool/ ' madman/ and many other epithets, which perhaps you will 
hear lavished upon the followers of the Lamb, discourage you from 
making his cause and people your own. I cannot but remind you 
— that " all who will live godly in Christ Jesus must suffer persecu- 
tion." 3 Not perhaps open persecution now, but ridicule, dislike, 
sneering, either open or secret, must be your lot, if you determine 
to " be not conformed to this world." We must not think it hard, 
or be angry or disheartened, if these things come upon us ; for our 
Master was a scorn and a derision to all around him/ 

' Do not cease to love me, and think of me always, dearest 7 

as yours most affectionately and entirely attached.' 

P. S. 'I earnestly join in )^our wish, that this may be the com- 
mencement of a new and blessed period of your life. May every 
future year see us walking more closely and more humbly with 
God.' 

In a third letter to her cousin, about a month subsequent, she 
again reverts to her Scriptural Rules. 

' April, 20, 1827. 
' I feel exceedingly at a loss, my dear friend, how to answer 
your interesting question — ' What is the meaning of giving up the 
world V For I do not consider, that giving up the world consists in 
renouncing its amusements, its company, its pursuits, so much as 
in putting off its temper and spirit, that we may put on the spirit 

1 Galatians i. 4. 2 Genesis xxxii. 26. 3 2 Timothy iii. 12. 



MEMOIR OF MARY JANE GRAHAM. 133 

and temper that was in Christ Jesus. When the spirit of the world 
is thus exchanged for the Spirit of Christ, the amusements and 
gayeties of the world must (not perhaps all at once, but gradually 
and surely) come to be extremely vain and unsatisfying in our 
opinion. For though the word "communion with God" is con- 
sidered as the mere creation of an enthusiastic imagination, yet if 
we will allow the Scriptures to be true, we must allow that there is 
such a thing as " holding fellowship with the Father and the Son," 
as " walking with God" day by day " in perfect peace," as *' having 
Christ living in us," and " his Holy Spirit abiding in us ;' n for by 
this, and by this only can we know that we are in Christ, even by 
his Spirit which abideth in us. Now let us suppose a person enjoy- 
ing — not the flights of a false and self-seeking devotion — but real, 
sober, scriptural converse with God, and that daily ; must not this 
be a happiness superior to any the world can give? See what 
David thought of it — " As the hart panteth after the water-brooks, 
so panteth my soul after thee, O God. My soul thirsteth for God, 
for the living God : Thou, O Lord God, art the thing that I long 
for. Whom have I in heaven but thee ? and there is none upon 
earth I desire beside thee. My soul breaketh for the longing that 
it hath unto thy judgments at all times. In God is my salvation 
and my glory ; the rock of my strength, and my refuge is in God. 
My soul shall be satisfied as with marrow and fatness, and my 
mouth shall praise thee with joyful lips, when I remember thee." 2 
&c. &c. And so in a thousand songs of love has David left on 
record what he thought of " communion with God." What must 
have been Job's view of the subject, when he said — " My friends 
scorn me, but mine eye poureth out tears unto God. O that I knew 
where I might find him ! that I might come even to his seat ! I 
would order my cause before Him, and fill my mouth with argu- 
ments !" 3 — Isaiah's — when he said, " O Lord, the desire of our soul 
is unto thy name, and to the remembrance of thee ! With my soul 
have I desired thee in the night ; yea, with my spirit within me 
will I seek thee early !" 4 But I need not multiply proofs of what 
seems to need no proofs — that communion with his Creator is the 
best, and noblest, and happiest thing of which a creature is ca- 
pable. Then will not they who enjoy this communion, very care- 
fully avoid whatever may tend to rob them of it? They will soon 
find that converse with the world [unless as far as duty or neces- 
sity lead them into it) is not compatible with converse with God : 
for if they conform to this world's habits and opinions, they deprive 
themselves of all scriptural claim to hope that God dwells in them, 
and they in Him. But if on the contrary, they are K transformed 
in the spirit of their minds," they will soon find that the world will 
dislike or ridicule them. But until we are delivered from the spirit 
of the world, I cannot see how we can reasonably be expected to 

i 1 John i. 3. Gen. v. 24. Isaiah xxvi. 3. Gal. ii. 20. 1 John ii. 24. 

2 Psalm xlii. 1,2; lxxi. 4. P. T ; Ixxiii. 25; cxix. 20; lxii. 7; Ixiii. 5, 6. 

3 Job xvi. 20; xxiii. 3, 4. 4 Isaiah xxvi. 8, 9. 



i34 MEMOIR OF MARY JANE GRAHAM. 

see any harm whatever in the customs of the world. Let the world 
that dwells and rules within be deposed, and the world without will 

soon lose its undue influence over us. But dearest , let us 

''stick to" 1 the Scriptures as our rule and standard in everything, 
(thus our doubts upon every subject will be quickly satisfied) ; and 
let as study them with prayer, that he, " who commanded the light 
to shine out of darkness, would shine into our dark hearts, to give 
them the knowledge of the glory" of the Gospel of God. We shall 
not ask in vain ; for " God giveth wisdom liberally, and without 
upbraiding." May he give you that " wisdom which is from 
above ;" since not all the wisdom of this world can find out God. 
There are in the sacred word two rules, which, if kept in view, 
might be a lamp to guide our feet in the darkest and most perplex- 
ing moments — " Whether ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do 
all to the glory of God." " Whatsoever ye do, in word or deed y 
do all in the name of the Lord Jesus"' 2 Now in going to a ball, 
or a play, merely to indulge my own vanity, or gratify my own 
inclination, I could not say — I am "doing this to the glory of God," 
I could not set about it " in the name of the Lord Jesus ;" there- 
fore as a Christian, I think I have no right to do it at all. But if 
any one could go " to the glory of God," I cannot dispute their 
right of going. In visiting my friends and spending a little inter- 
course in social converse with them, I have no feeling of this kind 
to draw me back, for God has given us our friends, and therefore 
requires us to be active in every social duty ; and religion has done 
little for us, if it has taught us to be morose and unsociable ; for 
the very soul of religion is to live not to ourselves, but to others. 
Still I think that, as far as we can, we should choose our friends 
rather among the friends of God, than among the friends and fol- 
lowers of the world. You mention music ; — so far from thinking 
it wrong in all cases, I think in my own, it is absolutely a relig- 
ious duty to pursue music, as far as my health will permit; and 
I think the same with regard to you. But supposing we had no 
particular object in studying it, still I think that music, as afford- 
ing a pleasing and innocent source of amusement to ourselves and 
others, cannot be considered wrong, though I should think it wrong- 
to give more than a very moderate time to it, or to let it encroach 
upon any other duty. For a real Christian — to say the least of it 
—has so great a work in hand ; so many really important and in- 
teresting objects daily solicit his attention, excite his energies, and 
set every faculty of soul and body to work ; that he or she can 
have very little time to throw away upon mere amusements. I 
have given you my opinion as well as I can, because you asked 
me, not because I wish or expect you to be guided by it : for I am 
persuaded, that if you continue searching the Bible with earnest 
prayer, God himself will lead you into every good and pleasant 
way. I have known many religious people, who have not seen 

1 See Psalm cxix. 31. a 1 Cor. x. 31. Col. iii. 17. 



MEMOIR OF MARY JANE GRAHAM. 135 

the necessity of separating themselves entirely from the world at 
first ; but I never knew any one who did not see it at last. Let 
me then close this subject, dearest , by calling to your remem- 
brance that encouraging invitation in Corinthians : " Wherefore 
come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, 
and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you, and will 
be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, 
saith the Lord Almighty.'" 1 

These letters will, we think, be admitted to discuss this important 
subject with much Christian wisdom and spirituality. Here are no 
harsh or sweeping denunciations, but a plain reference to the rules 
of Christ ; to the general principles, taste, and spirit of the Gospel ; 
and to the test of conscience and experience. Two particulars are 
worthy of special remarks — her principle, and her rules. 

Her principle is the superior attractiveness of the Gospel, as the 
only effectual opposition to a worldly spirit — { A believing view of 
Christ' — as she justly observed — c must make the world look dark 
and insignificant.' 2 The merchantman would never have suffered 
his " goodly pearls" to be snatched from him ; but the first sight of 
"the pearl of great price" was sufficient inducement to him gladly 
to relinquish them. 3 The apostle would never have yielded up his 
good name in the church with all his other sources of gain to the 
persuasive power of argument. But "the excellency of the knowl- 
edge of Christ Jesus his Lord" once manifested to his soul, made 
what before was his all, now "loss" — yea — "dung" in his sight. 4 
Thus in every case, simple faith is the principle of Christian decision. 

It is often a ground of self-delusive complaint — " If we were less 
entangled with the world, we should reach to far higher attainments 
in the excellency of this heavenly knowledge." This is doubtless 
a truth. Yet the converse is perhaps the most accurate and impor- 
tant statement. It is because we know so little of Christ that we 
are so much entangled with the world. Here we have the radical 
principle of the evil laid open. General and superficial views of our 
glorious Saviour offer but a feeble resistance to the mighty, subtle, 
and incessant operation of a worldly spirit. Deep, self-abasing, and 
spiritual apprehensions of the Gospel must be perseveringly sought 
for, and maintained in constant exercise under Divine teaching and 
grace. To the heart thus attracted to Christ by the active contem- 
plation of faith — the world in its most alluring forms will ever be a 
crucified object, an object of shame and revulsion. 5 And if this 
heavenly contemplation be followed out in all his relations to us of 
infinite tenderness and love, how will it cover us with shame, that 
a moment should ever have been found for any other object of 
paramount desire, affection, and interest ! We must, however, 
carry this powerful principle of faith into all the particulars of 
practical application. We must not forget the supreme authority 
of the scriptural commands for nonconformity to the world ; 6 nor 

i '2 Cor. vi. 17, 18. 2 Page 427. 3 Matt. xiii. 45, 46. * Phil, ill. 7, 8. 

3 Compare 1 John v. 4, 5. Gal. vi. 14. 6 Such as Rom. xii. 2. 2 Cor. vi. 1 7. 1 John ii. 15. 



136 MEMOIR OF MARY JANE GRAHAM. 

must we refrain from rebuking whatever appears to us in detail to 
be inconsistent with these commands. But except our remonstran- 
ces are grounded upon the full and clear principles of the Gospel, we 
shall — instead of "laying the axe to the root of the tree" — only- 
prune the branches for more luxuriant fruitfulness. The worldly 
taste may be restrained — but not subjugated ; and the heart, if it 
be even partially drawn from the world, will be turned to self- 
righteousness, not to Christ. 

As to Miss Graham? s rules, it is a vain attempt to fix precise 
limits to every particular act. Yet the scriptural rules which she 
has adduced, may be brought to bear upon every difficulty ; and if 
the application of them will not make us infallibly right, it will at 
least preserve us from being materially wrong. The force of relative 
obligation as an ordinance of God, is in clear conformity with these 
rules, and as such is strongly inculcated by Miss Graham ;* while 
at the same time it is always connected with faithfulness and decision 
of conduct, and never made an excuse for overstepping the line of 
demarcation. The point of worldly conformity commences, and 
the habit of it is strengthened, in the neglect of Christian simplicity 
of profession. Either these rules are not spiritually apprehended, 
or they are not conscientiously regarded, or there is a want of 
intelligent capacity to apply them. Many young inquirers, of 
unformed habits and unexercised profession, have lost their slight 
impressions of religion in an unguarded association with the w T orld. 
And how many more established professors have, by unspiritual 
habits, become unconsciously conformed to the taste, maxims, or 
society of the world, even while they have " escaped its" external 
" pollutions." We would earnestly recommend the application of 
these rules to every step and point of contact with the world. Let 
them be the test for the daily " trial of our spirit." Let us cultivate 
that tender susceptibility of conscience, which impressed this devoted 
child of God with poignant sorrow and humiliation, in a single in- 
stance of overstepping the boundary, or neglecting the rule of her 
known duty. 2 We are persuaded that this habit of mind diligently 
cherished would issue in the conviction, that the points of necessary 
or hopeful intercourse with the world, are not so frequent as were 
imagined ; that the rational pleasure of its society ill compensates 
for the painful loss that is felt in the secret retirement ; that posi- 
tive evil belongs to unnecessary communication with it : and that 
increasing circumspection is needed even in the path of duty. The 
responsibility of maintaining our profession will be more deeply felt ; 
and a path of retreat sought for, where that profession seems to be 
impracticable. We shall walk not by expediency, but by scriptural 
rule. Self-indulgence will yield to the dictates of conscience, and 
double-mindedness to the simplicity of the Gospel. " The eye beinsc 
thus single, the whole body will be full of light." 3 Religion will 
assume a different caste. It will be marked by a holy and heavenly 

» See p. 129. 2 See pp. 130. 3 Matt. vi. 22. 



MEMOIR OF MARY JANE GRAHAM. 137 

stamp. It will be — not a system of restraints — but a religion of 
privilege — the strictness of its rules wholly divested of moroseness, 
and forming an effectual safeguard of its consistency and fruitfuF- 
ness. Thus God will be seen in his true character, as " having 
pleasure in the prosperity of his servant," 3 who needs not to be 
beholden to the world for that happiness, which it promises to its 
votaries in substance, but gives only in shadow and delusion. 

The length and seriousness of this important discussion may be 
happily relieved by a sprightly effort of Miss Graham's imagination 
bearing immediately upon our subject. It was written impromptu 
in her friend's manuscript book. The picture was probably suggest- 
ed by her residence on the sea-side. 

< February, 1830. 
" Thy people shall be my people." Ruth i. 16. I have some- 
times thought, that the Christian, who willingly casts his lot among 
those to whom the doctrine of the cross is foolishness, and sits down 
in the world as if he were of the world, is like the foolish little bird, 
that should build its nest in the mast of some tall ship. At first it 
seems a place of security and peace ; but soon the vessel looses from 
its anchor, and the little songster is borne away it knows not 
whither. The trees and flowery hedges, and bright sunny meadows, 
are fast going out of sight. Fain would the poor bird spread its 
wings and regain them ; but how can it leave its nestlings, its 
treasures, which it has confided to that strange and troubled dwell- 
ing ! No, no ; its all is launched into the deep ; and with anxious, 
constant care it must hover round the dear nest, and seek for strange 
and scanty food for its young. And at first the vessel may glide 
smoothly on, while the wind gently plays with its sails, and the sun 
lights them up to a snowy whiteness, and the gilded waves break 
in sparkles round the stately prow. Then the little visitant pours 
forth its sweet song, and gladdens the sailor's heart by the fond tale 
it tells him of happiness and home. Yet all the while it is only 
lamenting its desolation, and pining after the pleasant haunts in the 
green wood, and the dear companions, by whom its notes were 
answered from bush to bush, till the very boughs waved in joy to 
their merry strains. But oh ! poor bird, if a storm arise, how wilt 
thou flutter round thy nestlings, and tremble, lest they should be 
swept away by the pitiless waves, or chilled into death by the 
piercing winds ! Yes, little trembler, thou hast placed thyself and 
thine offspring in a perilous situation ; nor is it thou that canst save 
them, but thy Father and ours, without whom not so much as a 
sparrow falleth to the ground. He it was that took care of thee, 
when thou wast safely lodged in thine own leafy branches ; and he 
can take care of thee now ; can teach the rude sailor to respect thy 
helplessness, and hush the stormy winds, that they ruffle not a 
feather of thy wing. And thus, Christian, if thou hast wilfully 

1 Psalm xxxv. 27. 



138 MEMOIR OF MARY JANE GRAHAM. 

withdrawn thyself from the shadow of that tree, which spreads forth 
its branches for all the fowls of heaven to dwell in ; if thou hast 
made thee a home away from the Lord's people ; many a bitter hour 
of loneliness and desolation shalt thou have, while thou art " sing- 
ing the Lord's song in a strange land." Thou shalt rue thy folly, 
and be humbled for it. Yet be not utterly cast down, but still trust 
in thy God, who will not fail to rebuke and chasten, but will never 
leave thee nor forsake thee.' 

IV.^-HER SENTIMENTS UPON MISCELLANEOUS SUBJECTS. 

We now conclude this long series of quotation, with some extracts 
of a more miscellaneous character. 

It is delightful to observe all her views of science — extensive and 
accurate as they were — to have been admitted and enjoyed through 
a heavenly medium. Whichever way she looked in this wide ex- 
panse, her eye was transfixed in the contemplation of the unsearcha- 
ble mysteries of redeeming love. We may instance the following 
sketch of Christian Astronomy — extracted from her manuscript. 
Speaking of the withering influence of Mathematics upon the pleas- 
ures of the imagination — and having (as we have already seen 1 ) 
suggested the study of classical literature, as furnishing some anti- 
dote for this evil — she further adds on this point: 

'It is scarcely possible to pursue mathematics to any extent, 
without being led by them into some of those sciences, of which 
they form the vestibule. Astronomy — for instance — presents a field 
for the largest and noblest exercises of the imagination. The stars — 
' the poetry of heaven' — afford not only perpetual employment for 
the reason, but unbounded scope to the fancy. The objects of 
astronomical study display a sublimity which exalts the imagina- 
tion ; a mystery which humbles the intellect ; a wisdom which 
enlarges every faculty of the soul, and a loveliness which soothes 
every feeling of the heart. They have, like their Divine Author — 
" heights, depths, and breadths" — unfathomable — inscrutable. Here 
we may soar, as upon the wings of angelic intelligence. Here we 
may expatiate, till our minds are lost in infinity. But with what 
unutterable astonishment does the Christian astronomer gaze upon 
the innumerable host ! He is conscious that God is all around him. 
His mind is possessed by one idea — the presence, the immense, the 
all-pervading presence of the God who made and upholds all these. 
For an instant he forgets his own littleness, and becomes vast as the 
objects of his contemplation ; for there are moments when the 
human soul seems to expand into something of its original grandeur. 
But the humbling consciousness returns, as soon as his full heart 
will give him leave to think, and he shrinks into insignificance. It 
is nothing to be the least, the meanest of the creatures of God. But 
to be a fallen creature — this bows him to the dust. Sin has made 

i Pa 2 e 39. 



MEMOIR OF MARY JANE GRAHAM. 139 

him an outcast from the beautiful creation, an alien from the creat- 
ing God. A holy God is on every side : and he is not holy. 

f But yet his thrilling awe is cheered with joy, hope and love. 
" The day-star arises in his heart ;"* and now every other star has 
a voice, " a still small voice ;" and tells a tale of love, which the 
angels delight to hear — a mystery, " which the angels desire to 
look into." 2 

' He who made us is il the God of thy salvation." He is " thy 
beloved and thy Friend." Thus hath the God who made the 
heavens, who ordained the moon and the stars, been mindful of 
man, visited him in his low estate, and " crowned him with glory 
and honor." 3 " Praise ye him, sun and moon ; praise him, all ye 
stars of light ; praise him, ye heaven of heavens, and ye waters 
that be above the heavens." 4 

f Christians! you can "sing praises with understanding." 5 All 
ye that love the Lord, praise the name of the Lord. " Praise the 
Lord, O my soul." 6 

While this sublime science has been perverted (as in the French 
school of philosophy) for man's contemptuous rejection of his Maker, 
it is most refreshing to observe the magnificent illustrations, by 
which the " heavens," viewed through the medium of Christian 
philosophy, " declare the glory of God." 7 In this field of elevated con- 
templation, the eye of faith " leads us up from nature," not only to 
"nature's God," but to the Christian's God — the God of his salva- 
tion. Here we discover what the '• eye" of reason " has not seen, 
nor hath ear heard, nor hath it entered into the heart of man," 8 un- 
taught by God. If — as our poet of the Night has decided — ' an 
undevout astronomer is mad,' even the devout man of science is not 
in the full possession of his faculties, nor in the enjoyment of the 
clear perception of the objects of his delighted observation, except 
he has been instructed in the highest school of Divine science, and 
enabled to trace in the Maker of the starry frame his God and Sav- 
iour — his faithful, unchangeable, Almighty friend. 

We pass to another field of science, of more general interest. 
Miss Graham's Musical Tract, already referred to, 9 will, it is be- 
lieved, be found to give an accurate sketch of the principles of its 
own department of the science. Its style is buoyant with life, 
beauty, and power. It occasionally mounts almost to the magni- 
ficent prose of John Milton or Jeremy Taylor. Take the following 
as a specimen. 

Speaking to her young pupil of the importance of practising, she 
sends her to the woods and groves for a stimulating example of in- 
dustry. 

' I can tell you, that the little musicians of the grove do not attain 
their wild and delicate modulations without practice. When I lay 

» 2 Peter i. 19. 2 i p e t er i. 12. 3 Psalm viii. 4, 5. 

4 Psalm cxlviii. 3, 4. s ib. xlvii. 7. 6 lb. ciii. 22. 

f Psalm xix. 1. M Cor. ii. 9. 9 See page 41. 



140 MEMOIR OF MARY JANE GRAHAM. 

in bed last summer, unable to speak or move for many hours in the 
day, the songs of the birds furnished me with an inexhaustible 
source of amusing observation. 1 could not but feel grateful to the 
melodious little creatures, who beguiled me of half my pain, and 
made the weary hours of sickness fly away upon wings as light as 
their own. As if led by an instinctive sympathy, numbers of 
blackbirds and thrushes came to build their nests round our garden ; 
and the woodpigeons, which had been silent the year before, re- 
newed their soft notes in the high trees by the parsonage-lawn. 
However, they were shy, and I thought myself fortunate, if once or 
twice in the day, their gentle cooing found its way to my ear. But 
there was one thrush, whose notes I soon learned to distinguish 
from all the other thrushes ; indeed his skill seemed to exceed 
theirs, as much as Cordoba's 1 exceeds yours or mine. Every 
morning I listened for his voice, which was sure to precede the 
matins of all the other birds. In the day-time, his brilliant tones 
were mingled and almost lost in the general melody ; but as soon 
as the sun was preparing to set. when the blackbirds had either 
sung themselves to sleep, or were flown off to keep up their festivi- 
ties elsewhere, then was my thrush's practising time. He was kind 
enough to select a tree not far from my window, while the other 
thrushes placed themselves at a respectful distance, and edged in a 
note here and there as they could. He opened the rehearsal with 
a number of wild trills and calls, which I could not well understand ; 
only they were very sweet and cheering to me ; and he would 
pause between each, till a soft response was heard from some dis- 
tant bough. But when he had fixed upon a little cadence which 
pleased him, it became a more serious business. Strange to say, I 
could always tell when this would be ; for what pleased me particu- 
larly was sure to please him ; so true it is that nature has given the 
same perception of melody to man and to birds. He would chant 
it over in a low tone two or three times, as if to make himself sure 
of it ; then he carolled it out with triumphant glee ; then stopped 
short on a sudden, as much as to say to his rivals — ' Which of you 
can imitate my strains?' Their notes sounded most sweet at va- 
rious distances during these little intervals ; but they seemed con- 
scious of their inferiority to my favorite, who would suddenly break 
out into the very same melody, upon which he had doubtless been 
musing all the while, enriching it by some little note or trill, the 
wildest and most touching that ever came into a thrush's heart. I 
needed neither concert nor music-master, while I could listen to the 
untaught, but not unpremeditated, harmony of this original profes- 
sor : nor could 1 quarrel with the sickness, which had been the 
means of developing another link in that mysterious chain, which 
binds me to the rest of creation, by opening my ear and my heart 
more than ever to the language of universal nature. But I often 
wished to have you with me, that you might hear how much pains 

1 An eminent musical professor among the Spanish Refugees, to whom she was in- 
debted for much valuable instruction. 



MEMOIR OF MARY JANE GRAHAM. 141 

the birds are at to charm us with their warbling-. It is pretty also 
to hear the young birds commence their small and faltering strains, 
which grow clearer and louder, till they are no longer distinguished 
from the rest. True, it is their profession, and we have many things 
to think of; but what time we do give to the study of music, we 
should give it with all our hearts, as they do.' 1 

For effective playing she gives the following sensible rules, inter- 
spersing them with her own happy illustrations. 

'I have told you that to play a piece effectively, you must com- 
prehend it well. You must also feel it deeply. It is impossible to 
excite lively emotions in another's breast, while your own remains 
untouched. There are two rules, which may assist you to attain 
quick perceptions of what is correct and beautiful ; and (with the 
help of the mechanical rules I have given you) to bring those per- 
ceptions out in your own performance. The first is, to cultivate 
a constant habit of listening to natural sounds. Everything in 
nature has a melody which goes to the heart, and from which we 
may gain some new and delightful ideas. I have called your at- 
tention to the song of birds. Then there is the bleating of flocks, 
and the lowing of distant herds, and the busy hum of insects. 
Above all, the modulations of the human voice afford us a per- 
petual source of observation. From thence we may gather the ex- 
pression of every stormy passion which agitates, and every tender 
affection which soothes the heart. Nor can we listen to the fairy 
tones of children, their light-hearted carols, their bursts of tiny mer- 
riment, their mimic griefs, and simply-told stories, without im- 
bibing some new and charming combinations of harmonious ex- 
pression. If music brings no lovely thoughts and associations to 
your mind, you are learning it to very little purpose. If it does, an 
intimate acquaintance with the music of nature will invest the ex- 
pression of those thoughts with a grace and refinement, which the 
most persevering practice will fail to impart. Take lessons of the 
winds and of the waters, and of the trees ; of all animate and all 
inanimate nature. So shall the very spirit of sweet sound and ex- 
pression enter into your bosom, and lie there, ready to pour itself 
forth upon the otherwise low and mechanical music, which the 
pressure of your hands produces on the instrument. One of Han- 
del's finest pieces is said to have been suggested by the labor of a 
blacksmith at his anvil ; so successfully did he watch for the 
harmony that lies wrapped in the commonest sounds. 

* The next rule I shall give you is, to listen attentively to skil- 
ful performers ; noticing particularly what emotions are excited in 
your mind by every passage ; and by what means they contrive to 
produce the effect which pleases you. The gratification we derive 
from listening to music, is similar to that which poetry imparts to 
us. Both these delightful arts call into being a thousand beauti- 
ful imaginations, tender feelings, and passionate impulses. But in 

i Pp. 21—23. 



142 MEMOIR OF MARY JANE GRAHAM. 

reading poetry, we are delighted with the thoughts of another per- 
son ; and though a beautiful idea will give us new pleasure every 
time we recur to it, still this pleasure is little varied, and depends 
on the conformation of the poet's mind, rather than of our own. 
The delights of music are of our own creation. We become for 
the time poets ourselves, and enjoy the high privilege of inventing, 
combining, and diversifying, at pleasure, the images which harmo- 
nious sounds raise on our minds. The self-same melody may be 
repeated a hundred times, and inspire each time a train of thought 
different from the last. Sometimes it will call forth all the hidden 
stores of memory — absent friends, voices long silent in the tomb, 
lovely scenes, pleasant walks, and happy hours, come back to us 
in ail their freshness and reality. Then the future opens its dreary 
prospects, gilded by hope, and chastened by a mournful tenderness. 
The exile is restored in glad anticipation to his country; the 
prodigal sobs out his penitence on his father's bosom ; the child of 
affliction is safely lodged in that mansion where sorrow and crying 
are unknown. Sometimes the past is forgotten, the future un- 
heeded, the mind wrapped up in the present consciousness of subli- 
mity or beauty. Forms of delicate loveliness, things such as dreams 
are made of, float before the mental vision, shaped into something 
of a waking distinctness. Thoughts too noble to last, high and 
holy resolves, gushings of tenderness, alternately possess our minds 
with emotions all equally different, and equally delightful. The po- 
etical inspiration of Allien seldom came upon him, but when he was 
under the influence of music. Haydn's symphonies were all com- 
posed so as to shadow forth some simple and affecting story, by which 
the author excited and varied his own feelings, and wrought them 
up to that pitch of solemn pathos, or animated gayety, which to this 
day, inspires all who hear his music with corresponding emotions.* 1 

The Christian tone and descriptive beauty of the concluding 
paragraphs will be generally admired. They are in the style of her 
favorite writer, Jeremy Taylor. 

' The expression of sacred music comprehends every emotion that 
can agitate the human heart, and must be felt rather than de- 
scribed. The subdued tones of awful adoration ; the impassioned 
fervor of desire ; the humility of prayer ; the wailing of penitential 
sorrow; the glad notes of thanksgiving; and the loud chorus of 
praise; all these have their own peculiar utterance, and must be 
pervaded by a depth and solemnity which shall distinguish them 
from the meaner affections of humanity. 

'I am fearful of touching too lightly upon this hallowed subject. 
Many young persons, when their feelings are excited by sacred 
music, imagine themselves to be bettered by such feelings, and to 
be under the influence of genuine religious sentiments. But if the 
plain majesty of the word of God does not suffice to kindle an equal 
fervor within us, when we are reading it silently and alone, we 

3 Pp. 25—26. 



MEMOIR OF MARY JANE GRAHAM. 143 

may be sure that the emotions excited by the lovely songs and 
pleasant instruments of men are the mere ebullitions of natural 
feeling, and have nothing to do with religion. Those who would 
sing the praises of the Lord, must " sing them with understand- 
ing." 1 The undying torch of truth must be lighted up in that 
faculty, before it can set the heart in a flame. There exists not a 
more dangerous delusion, than to mistake the feverish excitement 
of the imagination for the cheerful and steady glow of a rational 
devotion. 

' But while I so anxiously guard you against this pernicious error, 
do not for a moment suppose, that I would shut you out from the 
privilege which all creation enjoys, of sounding its Maker's praise. 
Oh ! there is a harmony in nature, inconceivably attuned to one 
glad purpose ! Everything in the universe has a voice, with which 
it joins in the tribute of thanksgiving. The whispers of the wind 
playing with the summer foliage, and its fitful moanings through 
the autumnal branches ; the broken murmur of the stream, the 
louder gushing of the waterfall, and the wild roar of the cataract, 
all speak the praises of God to our hearts. Who can sit by the sea- 
side, when every wave lies hushed in adoration, or falls upon the 
shore in subdued and awful cadence, without drinking in utterable 
thoughts of the majesty of God ! The loud hosannas of Ocean in 
the storm, and the praises of God on the whirlwind, awaken us to 
the same lesson ; and every peal of the thunder is a hallelujah to 
the Lord of Hosts. Oh ! there is a harmony in nature ! The voice 
of every creature tells us of the goodness of God. It comes to us in 
the song of the birds ; the deep, delicious tones in which the wood- 
dove breathes out its happiness ; the graceful melting descant of the 
nightingale ; the joyous thrilling melody of the lark ; the thrush's 
wild warbling, and the blackbird's tender whistle; the soft piping 
of the bullfinch ; the gay carol of the wren ; the sprightly call of 
the goldfinch ; and the gentle twittering of the swallow. Even 
now when every other bird is silent, little robin is pouring out his 
sweetest of all sweet notes upon yonder rose-bush ; and so dis- 
tinctly does he thank God, who made the berries to grow for 
him upon the hawthorn and mountain-ash, and who has put it 
into the heart of man to love him, and strew crumbs for him when 
the berries fail, that my soul, too often insensible to its own mer- 
cies, is warmed into gratitude for his. The very insect tribe have 
entered into a covenant that God shall at no season of the year be 
without a witness amongst them to his praise. For when the hum 
of the bees and the chirping of the grasshopper have ceased to en- 
liven us, and the gnat has laid by his horn, then the little cricket 
wakens into life and song, and gladdens our heart with the same 
story till the winter is past. And so all nature praises God, and is 
never weary. If then you are able " to make melody in your heart 
to the Lord," let your hand and your voice make melody too, and 

1 Fsalm xlvii. 7. 1 Corinthians xiv. 1 4. 



144 MEMOIR OF MARY JANE GRAHAM. 

let the faculty which infinite benevolence has created for your en- 
joyment, be converted, as all your other faculties should be, into the 
instrument of praise. To know that you make this worthiest use 
of your musical acquirements will indeed rejoice the heart of 

' Your affectionate Friend and Cousin, 

1 Mary.' 

The following exercise throws out some additional thoughts upon 
the connection of poetry and music alluded to in her tract. It was 
written in the form of a letter to her cousin, for the Italian master 
then in attendance upon them. As she wrote Italian with con- 
siderable spirit, and took some pains with the composition, it may 
have slightly suffered in a translation. 

1 1824. 
'My dear Friend, 

' Yesterday I was told of an observation you had made in the 
conversazione of Mr. B. (where unfortunately I could not meet you,) 
and as I do not agree with you upon the interesting subject then 
discussed, I will make it the subject of this letter, begging you to 
excuse all the dullness, which you will certainly find in my composi- 
tion. Is it possible, that you have conceived so low an opinion of 
the pleasures derived from harmony, that they do not appear to you 
worthy of being compared with those of poetry? I cannot let you 
rest in this opinion. Allow me to impart to my friend some of the 
delight which I find in this enchanting art. Not that I wish to say 
a word against poetry — that purest and most sublime delight of the 
human mind. Too dear to me are its sweet illusions, in which the 
usual sense of the ills of the present life is lost, whilst the soul lives 
in a world properly her own, and sports with beings created and 
adorned by herself. My intention is only to show you that the 
pleasures derived from music are not inferior to those of poetry, that 
both proceed from the same source, and mutually assist and heigh- 
ten each other. You will perhaps remind me of the great antiquity 
of poetry, and that from the most remote ages it has been the solace 
of the wounded heart. But this I cannot yield to you. Indeed it 
appears to me, that music had an earlier birth, and was the mother 
of poetry. A shepherd one day discovered the flute which nature 
has formed in the waving reed. Applying it to his lips, he is struck 
with the beautiful sounds which issue from it, and he endeavors to 
imitate them with his voice, in simple songs celebrating the beau- 
ties of his shepherdess. By degrees the cadences of the harmony 
suggest to him the idea of rhyme and metre, and thus these two 
beautiful arts are formed together, with so perfect a sympathy 
between them, that the one cannot be outraged without some injury 
to the other. Let us however leave this discussion upon the origin 
of these arts, (for it would be tiresome for us to search into the 
records of past ages,) and turn our attention to what is more interest- 






MEMOIR OF MARY JANE GRAHAM. 145 

ing, the effects which, in every age, they have produced on the 
heart. I wish to search a little into your motives for giving to 
poetry so vast a superiority ; and the secret spring appears to me to 
be this : the charms of harmony cause a pleasure perceptible to the 
senses, and for its enjoyment require a certain physical conforma- 
tion, a fine and exact ear, and other things, which seem to have a 
connection with the material part of man. You have therefore 
persuaded yourself, that it is a thing delightful indeed to the senses, 
but which has little influence upon the mind and upon the heart. 
I flatter myself that I shall be able to convince you of the injustice 
of this idea. Not only does music give us many ideas, but they are 
of the same description with those inspired by poetry, and sometimes 
even more delightful to the soul. I allow that the sweet harmony 
enters by the ear. But thence it diffuses itself through every part 
of the mind. It moves every passion, softens every affection, and 
creates a thousand delightful imaginations, a thousand divine pro- 
jects, which excite to all that is noble in resolve, and worthy in art. 
If I might draw a distinction between music and poetry, I should 
say that the former brings us pleasure of a higher degree ; the latter 
of a longer duration. Equally do they inspire soft affections and 
noble ideas.' Then, after following the same train of thought and 
imagination as in her Musical Tract, 1 she adds in her fervent 
glow — ' And shall not a science, capable of producing these senti- 
ments, be reckoned among the noblest delights of the human mind? 
I have not time to continue this interesting subject. But I cannot 
conclude without observing, that the poets themselves owe their 
finest ideas to music. Do you recollect the power which it had over 
the mind of our favorite Aifieri ? He could scarcely compose with- 
out its help. Many of his noble tragedies were conceived at the 
opera. But do thou, divine Petrarch, come to help, and show her 
who admires thee so much, that without the music of nature, the 
song of birds, the murmur of the streams, thou wouldest not have 
been able to enchant her with thy delicious rhymes. With these 
beautiful verses I conclude my letter, already too long, entreating 
you to yield to his representation of the effect of fine sounds upon 
the mind. 

' Se lamentar angeli, o verdi fronde,' &c. 

1 You know the rest. I have only time to say, that I am always 

{ Your very affectionate 

< Mary/ 

Without pronouncing upon the contending claims, (which proba- 
bly may still be a matter of dispute,) the exercise is not unworthy 
of the intellectual character of the writer, and is specially interest- 
ing, as a burst of that ' vehemence approaching to ecstasy,' which 
— as Mr. Cecil keenly observed — 'the world will allow on almost 

1 See the extract, pp. 124, 125. 

10 



146 MEMOIR OF MARY JANE GRAHAM. 

every subject, but that which, above all others, will justify it.' If, 
however, Miss Graham seems here to contend for the precedence of 
music, she was no less warm a votary of poetry. Though she was 
no poet herself, and never till the close of her last illness did she 
exercise even a rhyming propensity, yet her perception of the true 
genius of the science was lively and accurate, and her enjoyment 
of its delights proportionate. We have already seen her high zest 
for Milton. Wordsworth was among her chief modern favorites ; 
and even Lord Byron detained her for a while the victim of his fas- 
cinating enchantment. We subjoin a letter of a very early date, 
descriptive of her feelings, with much discrimination of taste, and 
with all the glow of her characteristic enthusiasm. 

' July 15, 1822. 
' I have not seen the Fourth Canto of Childe Harold. I am 
ashamed to say that I like Manfred. Diabolical as the sentiments 
of it are in many parts, yet there are some passages of such exqui- 
site beauty and sublimity, that it seems as if a human pen could 
scarcely have traced them. All the time I was reading it, I felt 
I was doing something wrong ; yet I read some of it over and 
over again, particularly the part where Manfred is upon the point 
of dashing himself over the precipice. The description of darkness 
did not please me. I thought it rather horrible than sublime. But 
I am just now in love with another poet, who is as fond of clothing 
his pictures with the sunny radiance of happiness and benevolence, 
as Lord Byron is of spreading over his, darkness and desolation. If 
you have read any of his trifling poems, you will smile when I 
mention Wordsworth. But some of his poems are so beautiful ! 
We have just now been reading ' the Excursion.' It is tiresome in 
many parts; but every now and then you meet with something so 
strikingly fine, or so unutterably tender, that it is impossible to go 
on. You must lay down the book, till the ferment it occasions has 
subsided.' 

Should Miss Graham's delight in Lord ByroiVs writings be a 
matter of surprise, it may be observed, that her letter distinctly re- 
cords the rebuke of conscience in her moments of self-indulgence ; 
and we doubt not but her inattention to this rebuke subjected her 
to the secret frown of her jealous God. We may also add, that 
shortly after the date of this letter, she readily made the sacrifice 
of her taste (which to her fervid mind required no ordinary effort) 
in the total relinquishment of this source of deleterious pleasure. 
Whatever weight may attach to her judgment will therefore de- 
cidedly be found on the side of self-denial, not of self-gratification. 
Indeed, familiarity with works of poison, whatever be their literary 
charms, seems inconsistent, not only with Christian simplicity, but 
with a common regard to our personal welfare. To a pure mind 
we might have supposed that a rich and splendid fancy would be 
spoiled of all its attraction by its frequent connection with licentious 



MEMOIR OF MARY JANE GRAHAM. 147 

profaneness and impiety — moral deformity, sufficient to cast the 
most exquisite beauties of poetry and genius into the shade; and 
the very contemplation of which, except through a scriptural me- 
dium, must be injurious to the best sensibilities of our nature. 
Even the instruction resulting from the unveiled features of human 
depravity is obtained — if at all — at considerable hazard. For let it 
be remembered — as Miss Graham has shown 1 — that the direct in- 
fluence of poetry acts upon the passions, and thus tends to produce 
a corresponding habit of the mind. The evil propensities therefore 
portrayed by this master-mind with such awful exactness, and em- 
bracing every form of malignity that can darken the heart of man, 
naturally excite the working of those passions, which it is the grand 
design of the Gospel of Jesus Christ to restrain and mortify. 
Whether, therefore, the infidel poison acts with vindictive activity, 
or with searching subtilty, its pervading influence is equally to be 
dreaded. We believe that many Christians, especially in moments 
of temptation, are reaping the bitter fruit of former indulgence ; and 
we are persuaded that none will ultimately have reason to regret 
the sacrifice of the high pleasures of taste to the far higher claims 
of their own spiritual interests. 

We add one further quotation from Miss Graham's manuscript 
upon a subject not wholly unconnected with the preceding — works 
of imagination in a more legitimate, though still a questionable, 
form — Religious Novels. Observing, that ' the taste of the serious 
public is lamentably vitiated' — she adds, \ The press teems with re- 
ligious novels, from the long eventful story to the ephemeral trifles, 
which eke out the pages of the spruce magazine. The greater part 
of these are feeble to a degree that would render them harmless, 
were there not a large proportion of readers, whose sickly appetite 
hankers after such unwholesome food. A few of them, I own, stand 
out from the rest, and compel our admiration. Yet, I must be per- 
mitted to say, that the very interest excited by these superior pro- 
ductions increases their bad tendency. How strange a medley of 
sensations agitates the heart, that is fluttering between the emo- 
tions excited by the well-pictured charms of religion, and the love- 
scene that is better pictured still ! How shall the young and inex- 
perienced distinguish between earthly and heavenly feelings ? How 
shall they determine, whether their agitation arises out of romance 
or religion ; from a heated imagination, or a heart warmed with 
Divine love? 

' I cannot conceive the use or propriety of introducing this kind of 
sentimental narrative into works professedly of a religious nature. 
Truth is not adorned but disguised, by being thus tricked out in 
false glitter and tinsel ornament. There are but two classes of 
readers ; the converted and the unconverted. Those of the former 
description would derive more benefit and pleasure too from praying 
over one verse of the Bible, than from reading a whole library of the 

1 See pp. 124, 127. 



4 



148 MEMOIR OF MARY JANE GRAHAM. 

above-mentioned performances. They will neither assist him to 
understand the word of truth himself, nor to explain it to others. It 
may be truly affirmed of the decided Christian, that for his own 
sake, the less he reads besides the Bible, the better. 1 But for the 
sake of his fellow-men. his reading must be more extensive. He 
must seek to enlarge and confirm his general knowledge ; must be 
prepared to meet inquiry, to cope with prejudice and error ; to 
recommend the cause of religion ; " to become," with the Apostle, 
"all things to all men." 2 It is not, however, by giving his time to 
the works in question, that he will attain this desirable object. His 
mental character will only be deteriorated by their enervating influ- 
ence. They will tend to impair both the inclination and capacity 
for solid intellectual exertion. It has been urged in their defence, 
that they will open to him a more extended view of human nature. 
But this will be much more effectually obtained by comparing the 
scripture statement with his own daily experience and observation. 
Another argument in their favor is, that they afford a useful key 
to the character and manners of society. These, however, for the 
most part, are sketched with no very skilful hand. They might 
with greater accuracy and less expense of time, be collected from 
some of the masterpieces of authors not professedly religious. In 
short, considering that the Christian part of the community has so 
much to do, and so short a space to do it. in, it must ever be matter 
of regret, that so large a proportion of their time and talent should 
be expended in making idlers and castle-builders. 

' But we turn our regard to the careless and gay. We are 
called upon to observe the effect of these publications upon their 
minds. We are reminded, that many young persons of lively 
imagination and warm feelings, who would scarcely look into a 
serious book, may be tempted to peruse these lighter works and 
derive benefit from the perusal. I admit the first part of this prop- 
osition, but deny the conclusion that is drawn from it, except in a 
few, a very few instances, which are to be regarded rather as excep- 
tions than as a general rule. Rare, however, as these instances 
are, they are by no means to be despised. They indicate that every 
narrative of this description must not be included in one sweeping 
condemnation, not pronounced entirely useless, since the sovereign 

1 This is rather a questionable affirmation. The general knowledge, which our Au- 
thoress admits to be beneficial to the Christian in the service of others, is of considerable 
advantage to himself. It enlarges his own mind. It throws much valuable light upon 
the contents of the sacred volume. It not only qualifies him to expound it to others, but 
it enables him to elucidate many of its difficulties for his own satisfaction, and extends 
his views of its intellectual and moral, as well as spiritual treasures. Miss Graham's 
own ease may be placed in opposition to her statement. As to Religious Reading, though 
an indiscriminate or disproportioned indulgence of it is most injurious to our simplicity 
and establishment in the Gospel; yet the writer may be permitted to observe, (discarding 
all reference to himself,) that the labors of the pen as well as of the tongue, have been 
honored as a means of abundant edification to the church of God. See R. E. Bicker- 
steth's Christian Student — a most valuable development of the principles and obligations 
of Christian knowledge. 

2 1 Cor ix. 22. 



MEMOIR OF MARY JANE GRAHAM. 149 

grace of God will occasionally use even them for its purpose. But 
they do not prove the necessity of sending forth such immense 
shoals of these productions, that one would think they were designed 
to supersede and swallow up every other. A few would answer the 
purpose just as well. Even while I concede thus much, I am in- 
clined to ask — ' Do you not in a measure create the taste, to which 
you profess only to accommodate yourselves! Will not this indis- 
position to all solid and valuable reading be exceedingly encouraged 
by your indulgent connivance V 1 much doubt both the lawfulness 
and expediency of this mode of decoying people into religion. I 
fear that the quantity of good which flows from it is greatly over- 
balanced by the quantity of evil. The religion inspired by such 
reading is of a doubtful nature. There is more of earth in it than 
of heaven. A young person, whose tears flow over a professed 
novel, is in no danger of mistaking the excitement of feeling for the 
fervor of devotion. Not so with these ambiguous compositions. 
Romance and religion are so allied, that we may suppose the latter 
of these to be embraced, when in effect her presence is only toler- 
ated for the sake of her fascinating companion. Dressed in the 
sober garb of truth, she will too probably be rejected by those, who 
permitted her to court them under the bewitching veil of fiction. 
And is it for the sake of exciting this spurious devotion, that we run 
the hazard of destroying the correct and simple feeling of the rising 
generation, and encourage the prevalence of a style of writing, 
which can never rise into genuine sublimity, or fix itself upon a 
basis of native solidity and strength V 

This extract will be generally admitted to mark considerable 
power of writing and of thought. The subject demands much 
accuracy of discrimination to place it in its true light. To proscribe 
works of imagination in the mass would include a much wider 
sweep of condemnation than novels religious or irreligious. It 
would banish from our reading much that is not merely purely 
innocent, but intrinsically valuable ; and seal up the fountain of 
much elegant and instructive literature. We might indeed adduce 
Dr. Chalmers' writing, for the proof, that the corruption is in the 
application — not in the faculty — of the imagination, which was 
given, like every other faculty, for the service of God and of his 
church. But an infinitely higher authority meets us in the Divine 
parables of our great Teacher, immediately acting upon this most 
valuable faculty for the illustration and enforcement of his impor- 
tant truths. And this example is the more to our purpose, as fixing 
the limit and direction, as well as legitimating the employment of 
fiction. The imagination is placed in immediate contact with plain 
and sober truth ; while it derives its primary interest, not from its 
own representations, but from the truth which it was intended to 
exhibit. 

With all these allowances, however, the general introduction of 
fiction into the cause of truth, is, as Miss Graham observes, of very 
doubtful benefit ; or, even admitting the prospect of usefulness to be 



i50 MEMOIR OF MARY JANE GRAHAM. 

more determinate, it has proceeded very far beyond the necessity 
of the case. Even in works of a religious character, we are too 
often caught up into an ideal world of poetry or romance, from 
whence the descent is somewhat painful to the sober realities of sin 
and misery — of " vanity and vexation of spirit." Now minds formed 
for effective usefulness need to be conversant with the solidity of 
truth, not with this visionary atmosphere of fiction ; while the in- 
dulgence of this artificial character fosters a baneful spirit of ex- 
citement : generates a distaste for well-regulated studies ; creates a 
taste for novel reading of a more detrimental character ; weakens 
the habit of self-control, so essential to the strengthening of the in- 
tellectual and moral principles ; and brings a habit of sentimen- 
talism into the religious profession, in the stead of simple and prac- 
tical spirituality.' 1 

The most effectual remedy against this existing and unfruitful 
indulgence, is to fill up the time with those solid pursuits, which 
leave no room, while they mortify the taste, for works of doubtful 
utility ; and to bring our intellectual recreations to the test of the 
Scripture rule, which Miss Graham on a former occasion so justly 
inculcated, for the proof of the legitimacy of our principles and en- 
joyments : " Whether ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all 
to the glory of God:' 2 

We conclude this selection from Miss Graham's writings and cor- 
respondence, with an abstract of ' Letters on the Duties of a Gov- 
erness,' a series of which she had contemplated for the use of her 
young cousin, then looking forward to this important and most re- 
sponsible situation. She commenced her plan during her last ill- 
ness, and with great difficulty wrote two letters in pencil from her 
dying bed. Though too incomplete in thought and style for pub- 
lication, yet her manuscript will afford some interesting illustration 
of Christian principle, and many valuable suggestions of general 
instruction for the use of those young persons who are now filling, 
or who are prospectively anticipating this interesting station in the 
domestic economy. 

These letters appear to have been one of Miss Graham's last ef- 
forts for one, whose best interests formed one of her most tender 
ties to life. After commencing with the most affectionate ex- 
pression of her deep-toned anxiety for her, she thus proceeds to 
remind her of her Christian responsibility. 

' The great wish of my heart for you,' she writes, 'is — not that 
you may be a very learned or accomplished governess, (though 
these are highly valuable considerations in their place) — but that, 
possessing as large a measure of these things as your means and 

1 Many works of fiction may be read with safety ; some even with profit. But the 
constant familiarity, even with such as are not exceptionable in themselves, relaxes the 
mind, that wants hardening; dissolves the heart, which wants fortifying; stirs the im- 
agination, which wants quieting; irritates the passions, which want calming; and 
abandons, disinclines, and disqualifies for active virtues and for spiritual exercises. The 
habitual indulgence in such readinc, is a silent, mining mischief. — Hannah More. 

2 1 Cor. x. 31. Comp. p. 424, 430. 



MEMOIR OF MARY JANE GRAHAM. 151 

abilities will allow, you may be truly and decidedly a Christian 

governess. For, oh ! my dearest , yours is a charge of souls. 

The spiritual welfare of your pupils is subordinately committed to 
your care ; and at your hands will the neglect of this solemn trust 
be required.' 

In this first preparatory letter she is chiefly occupied in incul- 
cating upon her cousin the Christian principle of faith in Christ, in 
all its detailed application to the circumstances, trials, and en- 
couragements of the situation of a governess. 

' I can only offer my advice to you as a Christian. I know but 
of two states to which children can be brought up ; for heaven or 
for hell ; for time or for eternity. I am departing out of time ; and 
knowing that both for you and them, time soon shall be no more, I 
dare not go upon any system but one fitting for souls born for im- 
mortality. Every word, then, that I write, must be on the sup- 
position that the glory of God, and the eternal happiness of your 
pupils, are your first aim ; and that every other object, however 
praiseworthy in itself, is only secondary and subservient to this one 
grand object of a Christian teacher's existence. 

'I exhort you to enter upon the new and arduous duties of your 
situation, u looking to Jesus." 1 Remember that he is " the author 
and finisher of your faith ;" that you cannot stir one step without 
his aid ; and the moment you begin to look off from him to any 
other object, that moment will your steps begin to slide. Fix your 
eyes, then, steadily upon him. "As the eyes of servants look unto 
the hand of their masters, and as the eyes of a maiden unto the 
hand of her mistress, so let 3^our eyes be upon the Lord your God, 2 
in all times, in all places, and in all circumstances." 

' And first, I earnestly recommend you to " look unto Jesus" in 
your choice of a situation. Pray constantly for Divine assistance 
and direction on this most important subject. This implies that 
you intend to seek for a situation among God's people ; for I sup- 
pose you will hardly ask God to give you any other. You may 
deem it unlikely that you should obtain a situation in so limited a 
sphere. But your dying friend would remind you — " The God 
who has led me all my life long," never forsook me upon any oc- 
casion, when I put my trust in him. The word of truth assures 
you, that " He has never forsaken any, who put their trust in 
him." 3 Nor will he forsake you, if you commit your way to him 
on this important occasion. From Abraham's time until now, the 
Christian's motto has ever been — "The Lord will provide." 4 Only 
" rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for Him ; fret not thyself in 
any wise to do evil. In all thy ways acknowledge Him, and he 

shall direct thy paths." 5 I charge it upon you, beloved , as 

my dying, earnest wish, that you take every proper means to obtain 
a situation among decided Christians ; and that, as far as it may 
be in your power, (for I know that it may not be always possible 

1 Hebrews xii. 2. 2 p sa lm cxxiii. 2. 3 p sa lm ix. 10. 

4 Gen. xxii. 14. 3 Psalm xxxvii. 7, 8. Prov. iii. 6. 



152 MEMOIR OF MARY JANE GRAHAM. 

for you to direct your own conduct) you join yourself to those who 
"are not of the world," 1 and to no others. An established Chris- 
tian might go in faith under the clear guidance of Providence, into 
a worldly or irreligious family ; and (if the parent would allow of 
her interference) she might be made a blessing to the whole family. 
But such a step, wilfidly taken, would be a serious— perhaps a 
fatal — injury to an undecided Christian. In a vast multitude of 
cases, the natural consequence of choosing a lot among the children 
of this world has been, that indecision in religion has become indif- 
ference ; indifference has terminated in aversion ; and the wretched 
professor has shown herself openly on the side of the world, tor- 
mented with the sting of her former convictions, and vainly con- 
trasting her worldly mirth with " the voice of rejoicing and salva- 
tion," which she had heard "in the tabernacles of the righteous." 3 

1 On the other hand, a situation in a truly Christian family will 
cover you from many worldly temptations, and afford you many 
important opportunities of marking the beauty and happiness of" 
religion. Under a kind Christian mother, you may be directed and 
encouraged in extensive usefulness to your pupils, while at the 
same time you are receiving valuable advantages for your own 
mind. Under all circumstances, be assured that you will find the 
blessing of taking the first great step of your life — "looking unto 
Jesus." 

' " Look unto Jesus" also, for strength to perform the duties of 
your situation. These you will find to be many and arduous, 
such as in your own strength you can never rightly perform. The 
more correct and enlarged your view of those duties, the more readily 
you will sink under them, unless you can " be strong in the Lord, 
and in the power of his might." But remember, " you can do all 
things through Christ which strengtheneth you." "His grace is 
sufficient for you;" 3 and his encouragement is — "Ask, and it shall 
be given you." Let a sense of your continual need stir you up 
constantly to apply to him for his aid, not only in your spiritual 
duties, but in your teaching, in your studies, in the very least and 
meanest of your employments. Thus "out of weakness" you will 
be made " strong." You will not soon " be weary in well doing ; 
for they that wait on the Lord shall renew their strength." 4 

' Look to him for counsel in the difficulties of your situation. 
Remember that he is not only your strength, but your "wisdom." 
When your path is so intricate and perplexed, that you know not 
which way to turn, then ask the Lord to " lead you in a plain path," 
to " order your steps in his word." 5 In every little, as well as in 
every great perplexity, folknv David's rule to " inquire of the Lord." 6 
The advice of friends is ever to be sought and valued ; but that of 
the kindest and wisest may sometimes be insufficient or erroneous, 

1 John xvii. 25. 2 Psalm cxviii. 15. 

3 Ephes. vi. 10. Phil. iv. 13. 2 Cor. xii. 9. Matt. vii. 7, 8. 

4 Gal. vi. 9. Isa. xl. 31. 5 p s . xxv ii. 11 ; cxix. 133. 
6 1 Sam. xxiii. 2, 4, 9—12. 2 Sam v. 19, 23. 



MEMOIR OF MARY JANE GRAHAM. 153 

or given in a harsh injudicious manner. But the Lord giveth not 
only advice, but "wisdom, liberally and without upbraiding.'' 1 

' " Look unto Jesus 1 ' for comfort and encouragement in all the 
trials and disappointments of your situation. The life of a governess 
is peculiarly subject to Utile daily crosses and vexations. These, 
as well as greater ones, are to be borne, by laying them upon Jesus. 
No burden is too great or too little to be cast upon the Lord. A 
cheerful looking unto Jesus, an assurance that he ever loveth and 
ever caret h for us, will bear us through many petty annoyances, 
which sometimes wear health and spirits much more than real and 
great grievances. 

y Lastly, " Look unto Jesus' n for a certain reward upon your labor. 
You have a promise — " Train up a child in the way he should go ; 
and, when he is old, he will not depart from it." 2 Ask for patient, 
earnest faith, to plead this promise importunately, incessantly with 
him. " All the promises of God are yea and amen to us in Christ 
Jesus ;" 3 and while we pray for, we ought to expect their fulfilment. 
" He is faithful that promised. 7 ' 4 The great Sower will assuredly 
watch over the seed that is sown in faith, and will bring it to per- 
fection. You may labor day after day for the souls of the children 
under your care, and yet see them as careless and unconcerned as 
ever; but look steadily unto Jesus; tarry contentedly the Lord's 
leisure ; "for in due time you shall reap, if you faint not." ' 5 

In her second letter she enters into a detail of some of the plea- 
sures and discomforts of the life of a governess. Under the former 
head she remarks : 

' The life of a governess, however dull and monotonous it may 
sometimes be thought, has many pleasures of a very refined and 
superior nature. Among the first of these, I reckon the usefulness 
and importance of the task in luhich she is daily engaged. Com- 
pare the recollections of a day spent to some valuable purpose, with 
the reflections which follow one that has been frittered away in 
trifling and vanity, or absorbed in selfish gratifications ; and you 
will see at once, if you know it not already, how great the pleasure 
of usefulness must be to every rational thinking being. But to the 
Christian, this is not only pleasing, but necessary. It is his pleasure 
and delight to lay himself out for the glory of God, and the good of 
his fellow-creatures. For this he is content to " wait all the days of 
his appointed time ;" 6 and much as he longs for the pleasures that 
are prepared for him above; yet if his abiding in the flesh be need- 
ful for the sake of one living being, he would not " depart," even " to 
be with Christ." 7 I know of no employment in which a Christian 
woman can be more profitably engaged, than in watching over 
the spiritual and mental improvement of children. The young 
beings intrusted to her care may form the comfort and delight of 
parents, brethren, husbands, friends, children. They may grow up 

i James i. 5. 2 Prov . xxii . g. 3 2 Cor. i. 20. * Heb. x. 23, 

s Gal. vi. 9. s j b xiv. 14. f See Phil. i. 23, 24. 



154 MEMOIR OF MARY JANE GRAHAM. 

to be happy in themselves, and blessings to society. Above all, 
they may be so many "jewels" added to the Redeemer's crown, and 
may themselves " turn many souls unto righteousness." To be the 
instrument (under God) of the smallest particle of this good, must 
be inexpressible delight. 

Nothing invigorates our progress so much as encouraging 
prospects of success. This is the undoubted privilege of a teacher 
of youth. Not to speak of those promises of God, mentioned in my 
last letter, and which of themselves suffice to make us " against 
hope to believe in hope," 1 the human probabilities of moral and in- 
tellectual improvement, from which God permits us to draw en- 
couragement, are most enlivening. To reform the manners, to 
eradicate the prejudices, to correct the tempers, of those whom age 
has matured, and set as it were in the form which they must after- 
wards retain, is indeed a most difficult task. But with the young, 
where we have to form instead of to reform, to prevent rather than 
to eradicate : patient instruction, and unremitting watchfulness, 
will, in ordinary cases, succeed to a very considerable degree. And 
though divine grace only can subdue their evil tempers and dispo- 
sitions, human means may do much towards restraining that out- 
ward violence, which so so often makes young people not only 
wretched in themselves, but an occasion of sorrow to all connected 
with them. The same advantage is connected with Christian 
grace and improvement. The minister preaches with holy ear- 
nestness to his adult congregation : but it is to the young of his flock 
not yet hardened in sin or in worldly habits, that he turns with pe- 
culiar hope and encouragement. To this comparatively tender 
and unoccupied soil, he consigns his seed, in the cheerful confidence 
that it will spring up, and bring forth fruit to perfection. These 
are the hopeful beings with whom you will have to deal ; and as 
youth is the season of hope and expectation, so is your task pecul- 
iarly one of hope and glad anticipations. 

1 In the attachment of her pupils, a kind governess finds 
another perpetual source of pleasure. This you are almost sure 
to obtain by a habit of considerate and affectionate intercourse 
with them, especially if they come under your care at an early age. 
It is delightful to be beloved by those, whom we have thus bound 
to us by the cords of gratitude and love. For the justness and 
clearness of most of their notions : for their ability to discern what 
is good, and to enjoy what is delightful and intellectual ; for all 
their knowledge and many of their pleasures, your pupils will prob- 
ably (if you conduct yourself according to my hopes) be indebted 
to you. They will scarcely ever fail to manifest warm attachment 
to one, who has so many claims on their gratitude. They must 
love their faithful adviser, their kind and intelligent teacher, their 
cheerful, entertaining companion, and their affectionate and sympa- 
thizing friend. 

* Rom iv. 18. 



MEMOIR OF MARY JANE GRAHAM. 155 

c The improvement of you?' own mind is also a source of inex- 
pressible delight. A conscientious governess will be perpetually 
and delightfully improving herself. While explaining subjects to 
her pupils, her own views become clearer : while she is teaching 
them facts or words, her own recollection of them is refreshed and 
strengthened. The arrangement of her knowledge for the use of 
her pupils is of the highest advantage to herself. She must learn 
to think clearly, that she may be able to express her meaning 
clearly to her young and ignorant auditors ; and if her own acquaint- 
ance with the subject be obscure, imperfect, or superficial, the 
attempt to teach will soon discover it to her, and compel her to 
correct it. Thus her previously acquired knowledge will be more 
solid and permanent, while she will be continually adding to its 
store. Often she may not be able readily to answer her pupils' 
questions. Further researches, therefore, on her part are necessary ; 
and thus the demands of her teaching stimulate to perpetual increase 
of her attainments. 

' I mention one more privilege connected -with the life of a gover- 
ness. Next to the improvement of her own mind, and indeed be- 
cause of the improvement that it yields to her own mind, is the 
pleasure of gaining an insight into the minds of others, into the 
human mind in general. In cultivating a flower-garden, there are 
few pleasures equal to that of watching the tender buds, as they 
unfold, one by one, their beauteous petals. How delightful is it to 
admire the wisdom of God, who teaches them to peep in due season 
from their mantle of green ; bids the sun to clothe them in all the 
colors of the rainbow ; and endues them with shapes so varied, 
and so perfect, that the little flower has been the joy and solace of 
man's breast in every age ! But what is this to the pleasure of 
watching the mind of a little child, as those faculties which lay 
wrapped within its tiny folds begin gradually to expand, each in its 
order ; every day witnessing the drawing forth of some new idea, or 
the unfolding of some latent power? And at a later age to watch 
those powers and faculties, as they daily improve and strengthen ; 
to see the unformed and untaught child, grow up before your eyes 
into the graceful, refined, and intellectual woman ; to mark every 
step by which it is effected, and to be yourself employed as an 
instrument in effecting it ; all this is a source of such continual and 
ever-varying delight, that to my mind it amply compensates for the 
tediousness and fatigue of teaching. And then there is the pleasure 
of watching, not only different faculties, but different minds ; of 
comparing their several degrees of development, and the peculiar 
combination of faculties, which constitutes the formation of each 
peculiar turn of mental temperament. You may probably find 
among your pupils many instances of this endless variety ; the more 
quick and ready mind ; the lively and imaginative ; the clear and 
decided ; the solid and steady ; the strong, the deep, the energetic, 
the inquiring, the contemplative. You will find that each of these 
will develop itself in a peculiar manner, and put forth their several 



156 MEMOIR OF MARY JANE GRAHAM. 

powers and faculties with different degrees of vigor and perfection. 
As an intelligent gardener, in order that his different flowers may 
open and expand to perfection, exposes them to every degree of air 
and heat, and treats them with every variety of soil; so will you 
find the most varied modes of treatment necessary in assisting the 
development of your mental blossoms, and in contending with the 
defects peculiar to each. These will be gradually suggested to you 
by experience ; and will assist you much in combating the defects 
of your own mind, which the course of your teaching in a watchful 
habit of self-inspection will bring before you. And as the child is 
but the copy of the man, you will thus be better enabled to discern 
the intellectual beauties and defects of those with whom you con- 
verse. The dull and prosy cease to be wearisome, while we are 
easily employed in inquiring into the causes of their imperfections, 
how they might have been, or might still be corrected. 

The advantages you will gain in watching the tempers and 
dispositions of your pupils will be yet more valuable and impor- 
tant. This, however, is a less pleasing task. The fall of man, 
though it has made shipwreck of every mental faculty, has still left 
the wreck as it were, the sadly obscured and mutilated remains of 
what was once so noble and beautiful. But our tempers and dis- 
positions it has totally perverted. To study the varieties of the 
natural heart, is but to study selfishness and pride, in all the vari- 
ous forms of virtue and vice, which they have assumed for the delu- 
sion and destruction of mankind. Yet, the high importance of this 
study, with the word of God for our guide, will fully compensate for 
its painful disappointments. If God gives me life and strength, I 
shall again have occasion to touch on these points ; I will therefore 
leave them now, and proceed to some of the disadvantages connect- 
ed with a governess's situation ; not to discourage you, but to pre- 
pare you, if I can, in some cases to avoid, in others, to meet them 
cheerfully.' 

Her exhibition of the discomforts of the life of a governess shows 
much good sense and knowledge of character in the true spirit of 
Christian sympathy. The most delightful characteristic, however, 
is the habitual bent of her mind, ever turning, like the magnetic 
needle, to the point of attraction. Thus, in the first inconvenience 
that she mentions, the separation of the governess from her own 
domestic circle — she naturally draws out an application, which 
seems to say with the church of old — " Saw ye him whom my soul 
loveth T' n '• This grievance,' as she justly observes. ' is often lighter 
than is anticipated. Strangers cannot live long in the same house 
without ceasing to be strangers ; and where there is a due propor- 
tion of encouraging kindness on the one hand, and of respectful 
confidence on the other ; friendship will soon take place of strange- 
ness and reserve. This is particularly the case, where both parties 
are sincere Christians. The love of their common Lord begets such 

1 Canticles iii. 3. 



MEMOIR OF MARY JANE GRAHAM. 157 

feelings of union and sympathy between them, that the hand of 
fellowship is soon held forth and accepted, as if they had long 
known and loved each other. They know so much about each 
other, of which the rest of the world is ignorant ; they feel them- 
selves so much of " strangers and pilgrims upon earth," that they 
cannot but rejoice at meeting with a fellow-sojourner, who, like 
themselves, " has no continuing city, but seeks that better coun- 
try,''' 1 to which their own steps are directed. Added to this general 
feeling amongst the Lord's people, the Christian mother may surely 
be expected to receive with peculiar interest and affection the young 
person whom she has engaged to assist her in bringing up for God 
those dear objects of her love, for whose temporal and spiritual wel- 
fare she cries unto Him night and day. Even should you fail of 
obtaining this privilege ; should your employers be ever so cold and 
distant ; still the affections of your pupils conciliated to you by af- 
fectionate and judicious treatment, will be objects of incessant in- 
terest to fill up the void in your heart, in the consciousness of loving 
and being loved. And I think that a teacher of youth thus blessed 
and encouraged will seldom be inclined to reckon her condition 
very desolate or forlorn. But even should this comfort be denied 
you (a misfortune I hope and trust very unlikely to happen in your 
case), I have to remind you of another source of consolation, which 
can never fail or disappoint you. If you now give yourself to Jesus, 
you can never be wholly amongst strangers ; for your best, dearest 
friend — one who is " born for adversity, who sticketh closer than a 
brother" — is with you, yea, and has promised to be "with you to 
the end of the world." 2 And oh ! what a friend and comforter is 
Jesus ! How abundant in loving-kindness ! How tender in sym- 
pathy ! How rich in counsel ! How " meek and lowly" in re- 
proof ! How wise to direct ! How mighty to help ! How slow to 
anger ! How ready to forgive ! What a faithful, unfailing, prom- 
ise-keeping friend !' 

Against ' the feeling of afflictive solitariness' — a measure of which, 
under the most favorable circumstances, must belong to absence 
from the happy family circle — she suggests the following alleviating 
considerations. The Christian turn which she gives to the first 
suggestion is exquisitely beautiful : 

; Think first, what a common privation it is. Almost every 
family disperses, as the younger part arrive at maturity. One son 
perhaps remains at home to support his father's declining years, and 
to fill his place when he shall be no more. The others betake 
themselves to distant parts, and are often content to look forward 
to a re-union in ten, twenty, or thirty years. The daughters 
probably marry, and accompany their husbands to remote situa- 
tions, from whence they return once in a few months or years, to 
visit the still dear party at home. This you will say is an unfair 
comparison. For the happy young wife goes with her husband, 

1 Hebrews xiii. 14 ; xi. 16. 2 Matthew xxviii. 20. 



158 MEMOIR OF MARV JANE GRAHAM. 

who is more to her than all the friends of home ; and she is soon 
settled in a new home ; and surrounded by a family and friends 

still dearer to her than those she has left. True, my dear ; 

and this is what I wish you to bear upon your mind in every trial 
you may have to encounter. The happy wife misses not the home 
of her youth ; because, wherever she goes, she carries with her that 
which is better to her than home ; and her pleasures now are supe- 
rior to those she has relinquished. And thus the devoted Chris- 
tian, whether married or unmarried, has with her, wherever she 
goes, the cheering presence of one, who is far dearer to her than 
husband, parents, brothers, sisters, or friends. She has made her 
home in the bosom of her God and Saviour. Thither she flies for 
sympathy and direction. In that kind bosom she can pour forth 
her joys and sorrows, far better than to the tenderest relatives or 
friends. She has nothing u in heaven besides her God, nor on 
earth any she desires in comparison of him." She must feel as a 
stranger even in her own home, if it be composed of such as know 
not the name of Jesus; and wherever that beloved name is known 
and esteemed, there she is happy and at home. Go where she 
will, she cannot journey to the place where God is not ; go where 
she will, she is still drawing near to that home, on which her 
thoughts and affections are fixed.' 

Another ground of alleviation is very pointedly and sensibly set 
forth. 

'This painful separation from home, is in reality (under present 
circumstances) the best and happiest thing for you. Were two 
situations equally eligible to present themselves, and were I asked 
to assist you in your choice, assuredly the one near home would not 
be the object of my preference. A continual recurrence to the com- 
forts and liberty of home, makes every little restraint and discom- 
fort of a situation doubly irksome and annoying. The poor gov- 
erness, who has the misnamed privilege of perpetual access to her 
home, returns from it, in no very favorable mood to a place where 
she cannot (at least at first) be loved, caressed, and appreciated, as 
amongst her own friends. It is but too natural, that she should 
consider every little departure from the unlimited and perhaps in- 
judicious indulgence, which she has just experienced, as an actual 
deviation from the law of kindness and equity ; that she should 
magnify every real or fancied slight into contempt, every expression 
of disapproval into a harsh reproof, and every degree of strictness 
in requirement into an unreasonable exaction. Soon the very near- 
ness of her home tempts her steps thither again. There the well- 
filled budget of petty trials and vexations, which few young per- 
sons have the wisdom to conceal within their own bosoms, or to 
tell to none but God, is emptied out before partial relatives, who 
hear but one side of the story, and are too apt to take it for granted, 
that there is no other way of telling it. They cannot refuse to 
sympathize and console ; and while they are wondering that such 
an attention was omitted, such a fault found, or such a duty ex- 



MEMOIR OF MARY JANE GRAHAM. 159 

acted, they little suspect themselves to be the cause of the forlorn 
and disconsolate state of their dear relation. Nor does the evil end 
here. Her mind divided between her pupils and home, cannot fully 
and affectionately employ all its energies in the service of the 
former. Too often will her absent looks and languid attention be- 
tray the fact so injurious for pupils to discover, that her mind can 
wander as well as theirs ; and that their improvement and enter- 
tainment are objects which soon slide out of her thoughts, when 
occupied by subjects of more pleasant contemplation. Nor have I 
yet made the obvious remark, that the time lost in these frequent 
visits, however short, must deprive her of many opportunities of 
private improvement ; and thus prove in the end extremely detri- 
mental both to herself and her younger charge. From these con- 
siderations, a moderate distance from home is far preferable, from 
whence at stated and proper intervals you are permitted to revisit 
your friends. And I think that such reflections as these might en- 
able us to bear the discomforts even of a long separation from 
home, not merely with patience, but with thankfulness. 

'I cannot quit this subject without strongly cautioning you, not 
too hastily to accuse the parents of your pupils of being unkind or 
unreasonable, because they are not willing to grant you leave of 
absence whenever you think fit to ask it. They, perhaps, with 
more justice, may think the unreasonableness to be all on your side. 
It is both right and natural, that they should anxiously desire the 
improvement of their children in every branch of instruction to 
which their attention has been directed ; and they know that this 
is only to be attained by a steady course of persevering application. 
They know that every interruption to this course must have a 
pernicious effect, by weakening habits newly formed, and permitting 
old and' bad habits to revive ; by unsettling the mind in all its pur- 
suits, and blotting out much of what has been already learned. If, 
therefore, they oppose your absence, it is because they value your 
services too much to part with them lightly, or without sufficient 
cause. There are few cases in which you ought not to submit to 
their decision. But the best way to prevent any future misunder- 
standing or disappointment, is to make some arrangement before 
you enter upon your situation.' 

The frequent change of 'situation, or the liability to this change. 
is well pointed out as a serious evil attending the life of a governess. 

c Her duties,' it is observed,' are becoming easy and delightful to 
her ; she is beginning to rejoice in the growing attachment of her 
pupils ; she feels that she can look round on their little faces with a 
degree of maternal affection ; when some unexpected cause induces 
or compels her to relinquish her situation. She has long been 
employed in clearing away the rubbish ; in laying the foundation ; 
and in collecting and arranging the materials of her intended super- 
structure, which was beginning to rise with a daily increasing order 
and symmetry. This state of things might probably appear rude 
and unfinished to the eye of others; but it was full of hope and 



160 MEMOIR OF MARY JANE GRAHAM. 

interest to her, who had been watching its progress from day to day, 
and confidently awaiting th© happy, though distant completion of 
her labors. Her work must now pass into the hands of another, 
who neither witnessed its commencement, nor can^ be aware of 
many important points connected with its progress. The new 
teacher, however, succeeds to all the benefits of that preparatory 
drudgery, with which her predecessor had hoped to pave the way for 
her own future exertions. It seldom happens that the children are 
not seriously injured by this change of system. The very act of 
changing has a tendency to unsettle the mind. The new comer's 
manner, her new mode of expression, and new system of teaching, 
must render her at first less intelligible to them, than the familiar 
voice to which they have been accustomed ; and till this disadvan- 
tage is conquered, her services must prove less effective. Besides, too 
often the new governess, confident of the superiority of her own 
methods of instruction, hastily puts aside the rules and arrangements 
of her predecessor — not because they are not good, but as if they 
could not be good, because they were not her own. Then the 
children also are discouraged and thrown back in many of their 
studies, that they may be grounded in them on the new system. 
Perhaps ere long another change is determined — a new teacher 
comes — and the best methods are displaced by others that are newer 
and better still. The result of this broken and interrupted educa- 
tion will be a sort of clumsy patchwork, made up of a medley of fine 
and coarse materials, ill-contrived, ill-assorted, and loosely put 
together. These are some of the real injuries inflicted on children 
by the frequent change of domestic administration. 

i My chief concern, however, is w T ith the governess. In addition 
to these mortifying circumstances, she is again thrown upon the 
world. She must once more take up her abode amongst strangers ; 
her pupils are again unfamiliar to her ; she must study their tem- 
pers ; conciliate their affections ; examine and arrange their present 
acquirements : in short, she must encounter anew every former 
difficulty. And when all this is effected, and things begin to glide 
smoothly on, another change, another loss of time and labor, may 
yet be in prospect for her. The web may be again unravelled ; the 
stone, that had been heaved half-way up the mountain, may roll 
down again to its very foot. I have dwelt strongly on the evils re- 
sulting from a frequent change of situation — not by way of dis- 
couragement, but of warning. I am persuaded that, in a large 
majority of cases, young people might and would retain their 
engagement in one family much longer than they do, if only they 
would calmly sit down, and count the serious cost both to themselves 
and to their pupils, (to which I have alluded,) in relinquishing it.' 

It would be difficult in all cases to determine what might be 
deemed a sufficient reason for relinquishing a situation. A few de- 
cidedly insufficient motives are accurately specified. 

y I need scarcely suggest, that a trifling increase of salary 
would be an insufficient reason for quitting a tolerably comforta- 



MEMOIR OF MARY JANE GRAHAM. 161 

ble situation. Circumstances, such as some urgent family call 
upon your assistance, might indeed render a change not only ex- 
cusable but praiseworthy. But without an imperative call, it will 
be equally your interest and happiness to retain your station. I 
consider the governess, who will abandon her young charge for the 
mere sake of a little paltry emolument, much in the same light as 
the minister, who will leave his larger flock for the same base mo- 
tive of " filthy lucre," without any clear providential call. This 
abandonment of present and certain usefulness for the sake of some- 
thing new and uncertain — whether dictated by the love of gain, or 
the love of novelty — is not only sinful but imprudent. You are 
now more or less comfortably settled. You know not how many 
discomforts may await you in a new situation. You leave those 
who probably are becoming attached to you, for those who at pres- 
ent neither know nor care anything about you. This is not the 
way to lay up friends against the time of sickness, distress, or age. 
The plain path of duty is always the path of prudence. Here only 
can you expect the " blessing of the Lord, which maketh rich ; and 
he addeth no sorrow to UP 1 When, however, any tempting offer 
occurs, the love of gain, so common to all, the love of novelty so in- 
herent in young minds, and the persuasions of older sordid friends, 
are too likely to prevail with a young person, who is not enabled to 
hold fast her integrity, by working with a single eye to the service 
of Christ. 

'Nor do I think that any trifling inconvenience should induce 
you to relinquish an engagement which holds out to you a, fair 
prospect of usefidness. Every situation has its trials and priva- 
tions ; and it is better, if possible, to put up with those which already 
fall to your share, than to run the risk of incurring others which 
may be worse. Besides, these petty hardships are always most se- 
verely felt at first. After a time they wear off, and at length cease 
to occasion any considerable uneasiness. When the temper of either 
parents or children is a trial to you ; when the parents, through 
pride, avarice, or inconsideration, fail in a proper attention to your 
comforts ; when the extreme retirement or excessive bustle of your 
situation makes it very unpleasant to you, &c. — in these and many 
other similar cases, I should advise you to make as light of the evil 
as you can, and to bear with it as long as it can possibly be borne 
with. 

' Again — let not any sudden fit of despondency induce you to 
give up your situation. There are few teachers, who cannot rec- 
ollect a time, when everything seemed to go wrong with them — 
1 No children ever repaid the trouble bestowed on them so little ; no 
situation ever possessed so few advantages : no parents were ever 
so exacting and dissatisfied. In any other family they should suc- 
ceed better ; here they can neither do justice to their pupils nor to 
themselves.' Such feelings, which may be expected to arise in 

1 Proverbs x. 22. 
11 



162 MEMOIR OF MARY JANE GRAHAM. 

times of difficulty and discouragement, mark something very wrong 
in your own heart, that casts a shade upon all the objects around 
you ; something that needs — not the indulgent experiment of change 
of situation — but a special course of self-examination, watchfulness, 
and prayer, to restore a healthful tone of energy, cheerfulness, and 
satisfaction to your mind. 

: I need scarcely observe, that no offence, real or fancied, except 
the former be of a very clear and aggravated character, could jus- 
tify you in quitting a family, in which you may have probably 
received much kindness, and may receive much more. A governess 
must expect to be told of her faults, and ought to be thankful for 
such information as may lead to their correction. Christians indeed 
too often perform the difficult office of reproof in a very harsh and 
grating manner ; forgetting that the reproof of " the righteous 
should be like excellent oil," not to " break," but to heal, the 
wounded spirit. 1 Yet the harshness with which a censure may be 
given, forms no excuse for a defect of Christian meekness and love 
in receiving it. " Be not hasty in thy spirit to be angry j" but re- 
member that " a soft answer turneth away wrath.'" 2 Indulge not 
that sensitive temper, which is always looking out for some ground 
of offence, over which it can brood, till it bursts out into open dis- 
content ; which bristles up at every light and unguarded expres- 
sion, and is always on the defensive, even when no intentional slight 
could have been conceived. You will never long retain a situation 
without a forbearing spirit in respect of many little tilings, which 
are grating to a proud and self-conceited temper. Good sense and 
experience will indeed help to depress this baneful temper. For 
we can scarcely so far shut our eyes to the passing world around 
us, as to fail in discovering, that the good opinion we may have 
formed of ourselves is ill-warranted by the general estimation in 
which we are held ; and that we must expect our full share of in- 
convenience and neglect. But true Christian humility can alone 
conquer the evil, "by bringing into captivity every high thought to 
the obedience of Christ.'" 3 The spirit and temper of which we have 
been speaking is ever ready to take fire at the least provocation, or 
even without provocation. It exacts not only due respect, but much 
more than, if it knew itself, it would find to be its due. It can bear 
with nothing; it can endure nothing. But do you follow after that 
" charity which suffereth long and is kind ; is not puffed up ; doth 
not behave itself unseemly ; seeketh not her own ; is not easily 
provoked ; beareth all things." 4 

' To sum up what I have said in a few words — when you have 
taken up your abode in a family, and have fairly set down to the 
performance of your duties, remember that you are in the station 
to which God in his providence has called you ; and that nothing 
but a clear and explicit call of duty or necessity can justify you in 
quitting it. 

1 Psalm cxli. 5. 2 Ecclesiastes vii. 9. Prov. xv. 1. 

3 2 Cor. x. 5. 4 1 Cor. xiii. 4—7. 



MEMOIR OF MARY JANE GRAHAM. 163 

' The causes that might induce your employers to dissolve the 
engagement (in which case you can have no alternative) very ma- 
terially depend upon yourself. Under any ground, just or unjust ; 
of their dissatisfaction with you, endeavor in the spirit of prayer 
to sift every part of your conduct, and particularly the part censured, 
to the very bottom. Put yourself in their place. Make every al- 
lowance for the feelings of an anxious parent ; and consider what 
might fairly be expected from you, and how far you have answered 
those expectations. Under any error discovered, be not ashamed 
to confess your fault with all candor and humility, and (in higher 
strength than your own) to promise amendment. To retain your 
situation by this " voluntary humility" will be truly honorable in 
the eyes of Christians, who know that " he that humbleth himself 
shall be exalted." 1 But supposing that, after sincere self-examina- 
tion, you cannot acknowledge the justice of the censure, still, as a 
Christian, strive to conciliate. Do not get warm or angry in your 
own justification ; mildly profess your freedom from any intentional 
offence or omission ; and declare your readiness to redouble your 
efforts to give satisfaction. 

' Should incompetency be alleged against you, I should advise 
you. rather than give up your engagement in despair or in offence, 
to endeavor by redoubled diligence and application, especially in 
the particular ground of complaint, to redeem and establish your 
character. Christian gentleness and humility to explain and con- 
ciliate, and a willingness to correct errors, and to supply omissions, 
will in many cases restore satisfaction and confidence in the minds 
of your employers. 

' Should however — not any fault or caprice on either side — but 
some unavoidable domestic necessity, dissolve the connection, in 
this case many mitigating circumstances will present themselves to 
your mind. In the first place — " It is the Lord ;" and not one of 
his appointments or disappointments is without some wise and gra- 
cious purpose. In the next place — all painful feeling of responsibility 
for any evil that may result from the change is entirely removed. 
And thus supported by a sense of God's blessing, and a clear con- 
science, you may look cheerfully forward to your new destination, 
hoping to gain new friends without losing the old.' 

The writer has been induced to quote so largely from these letters, 
because he is not aware of any work that enters into the details of 
the principles, characteristics, and sympathies of the life of a gover- 
ness. Had Miss Graham been permitted to complete her design, 
her accurate and observant mind would probably have produced a 
valuable manual for this interesting and important class of society. 4 
In the defect, however, of an entire system of instruction, the pre- 

1 Luke xviii. 14. 
2 A small volume, lately published, — ' Letters to a young Governess, by S. F.Ridout,' 
contains mnch valuable suggestion in filling up Miss Graham's imperfect sketch. 



164 MEMOIR OF MARY JANE GRAHAM. 

ceding hints will be found to suggest much sensible instruction 
nearly connected with their comfort and usefulness. 

In the choice of a governess, solid principle is of far greater mo- 
ment than accomplishment. Let the intellectual adorning have its 
due weight and consideration. But after all — the formation of the 
character upon Christian habits of thinking and conduct — and the 
storing of the mind with useful knowledge — is the primary concern. 
Where rectitude of principle have been fully proved, instruction 
may supply many lesser defects — and redoubled diligence and 
application will, — as Miss Graham observes, — do much to establish 
the character, as well as to strengthen the tone of mind. We must, 
however, preserve an even balance in the adjustment of this impor- 
tant part of domestic economy. If the generality of instructors are 
too flimsily furnished for their great task, perhaps it may be also 
said, that the generality of their employers are too niggardly. 
Though Miss Graham rightly inculcates upon her young governess 
not to consider stipend a primary matter, yet it is a part of Christian 
obligation to elevate her in a high rank above the menials of the 
house, and to consider the claims of aged parents or poor relations, 
that often press upon her. Where there is no power to give the 
liberal remuneration that is deserved, special care must be taken to 
compensate by the coin of affection and esteem — to a sensitive and 
delicate mind more acceptable than any increased pecuniary con- 
sideration. Under all circumstances, let it be remembered, that the 
labor of instruction is an anxious— and with children of lively and 
untractable temperament — a very depressing task. Let not, there- 
fore, the slight or caprice of parents, or the contumely of servants, be 
added to their painful privations and sacrifices. It is too often 
found, that inconsiderate selfishness and formal pride on the part of 
the parents materially hinder the effective useful ness^of the family 
instructors. It fosters in them a discontented spirit in the contrast 
with the tender sympathies of their own home. Their insulated 
station in the family throws them in irksome solitude upon their own 
resources ; contracts their social affections ; and paralyzes that 
affectionate interest in their charge, which is the soul and energy 
of a fruitful system of instruction. Whereas a considerate tender- 
ness would return to the parents an abundant recompense, in rais- 
ing up for their children valuable friends in the persons of their in- 
structors — attached to their interests beyond the prospects of sordid 
gain — wise, anxious, and sympathizing counsellors to the end of life. 

On the other hand, personal hindrances too often restrain the 
disposition of the employers to incorporate the instructor, as far as 
is consistent with her station, into the family circle ; and this, even 
when a well-furnished mind and general consistency of conduct 
would have made her society an important consideration. A want 
of knowledge or respect for the regulations of decorum — defect of 
manners — forgetfulness of the due reserve connected with her situa- 
tion — pedantic tone of conversation — vanity of dress — self impor- 
tance — a disputatious spirit — a love of authority — affectation, or 



MEMOIR OF MARY JANE GRAHAM. 165 

studied eccentricity of behavior — these or some other failure in the 
domestic graces — repel the exercise of kindly confidence, and pro- 
duce a natural, and in some degree a necessary, distance in the 
deportment of the parents. 

Let each side form their mutual behavior upon scriptural rules. 
Let the one practise the injunction of love — " Whatsoever ye would 
that men should do unto you, do ye even so to them." 1 Let the 
other " be clothed with humility," and be found in the daily observ- 
ance of " whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, 
whatsoever things are of good report." 2 Thus Christian regard and 
happiness will be reciprocally diffused, without any compromise of 
their several obligations. 

i Matt. vii. 7. 12. M Peter, v. 5. Phil. iv. 8. 



CHAPTER V. 

DIFFERENT VIEWS AND FEATURES IN MISS GRAHAM'S 
CHARACTER. 

The retired and uniform habits of Miss Graham's life scarcely 
allow of a detailed illustration of her natural character. That 
singular freedom from selfishness, remarked in her early history, 1 
appears to have been, by the common consent of all her intelligent 
friends, a most prominent feature throughout life. One of her 
young companions, whose subsequent opportunities of observation 
give weight to her testimony, thus confirms the general remark on 
this point : — ' The situation which 1 have filled for some years (in 
tuition) has of course brought under my notice the various dispo- 
sitions and peculiar tempers of children in general. From neces- 
sity partly, I have studied them. But I have never met with one, 
who in any degree answered my recollections of Mary Graham. 
Warm and susceptible in her feelings, she was tender to those of 
others ; nor did she ever suffer any regret or disappointment in her 
own mind to interfere with the comfort or pleasure of her com- 
panions.' The testimony of her young cousin is to the same 
purport. i I never saw any one so devoid of selfishness, or who took 
so warm an interest in the happiness of her fellow-creatures. There 
was not one of my amusements or childish sorrows in which she 
would not take her share. As I grew up, her kindness in this re- 
spect increased.' This lovely trait was combined with a sweetness 
and gentleness of disposition, and, being moulded under the influ- 
ence of divine grace, attracted the regard even of the thoughtless 
and unobservant. Indeed her young friend first alluded to does 
not hesitate to assert — ' My earliest remembrance of her is con- 
nected with feelings of respect, which, I think I may say, I have 
scarcely felt in a stronger degree for any one I have since known,' 

We have already given her parents' account of her relative 
character under their own roof. 2 In its wider sphere of operation it 
may, however, be added, that her natural affection was enlarged in 
no common degree to all that belonged to her, and manifested in 
the most important and practical mode of constant prayer and ef- 
fort for the salvation of their souls. She sometimes spent a great 
part of the night in earnest and persevering intercession ; and on 
one occasion was known, after she had retired to rest, to arise from 
her bed to employ herself in special prayer, in behalf of her only 
brother, who died in America about this time, and for whom she 

i Page 11. 2 Ibid. 



MEMOIR OF MARY JANE GRAHAM. 167 

never ceased to cherish the hope, that her prayers were heard with 
acceptance. 

The following letter fully enforces the claims of natural affection 
upon the basis of the high principles of the Gospel. In quickening 
her friend to a self-denying effort in this path of duty, she writes : — 

< Stoke, Jan. 2, 1827. 

' My clear , " freely we have received, freely let us give." 1 

If it does take up half a day once or twice a month to go to , 

surely God, who gave all your days, has a right to expect you should 
spend them in whatever service he will put upon you ; and by 
making these individuals your near relations, he has given them a 
claim upon you. Jesus made himself as our brother, that sucked 
the breasts of our mother, on purpose to give us an everlasting 
claim to all that he can do for us ; and surely those whom he has 
given us as near relations, have for his sake a claim upon all that 
we can do for them. The more unpleasant the task, the more con- 
trary to flesh and blood, the more reason we have to hope that we 
are not following our own fancy, nor working to please ourselves, 
but really following the example of Jesus, who " came not to do his 
own will." 2 At the same time, if after prayer, you really do not 
feel called upon to do something for them, and that speedily and 
perseveringly ; and if you do not think you are guilty of great un- 
faithfulness and selfishness in neglecting it, I will not mention the 
subject again to you ; for I am persuaded you will be taught of 
God, and faith will be given you, if the Lord intends to make use 
of you to do them good. My great desire is, that we may be 
always faithful to one another, "provoking one another to good 
works." ' 

In another letter to the same correspondent, she throws out a 
valuable hint of encouragement relative to a difficulty, which is 
often painfully felt in this course of obligation. 

■ I often think, dear , that if we could feel and carry in our 

memory those encouraging words of our Saviour, " It is not ye that 
speak, but the Spirit of your Father, which speaketh in you," 3 — 
we should no longer suffer false shame to hinder us from earnestly 
pressing the subject of the Gospel upon those who are dear to us. 
May not we, as well as the inspired apostles, hope for the indwelling 
guidance of that Spirit, who shall strengthen us in all utterance 
and in knowledge V 

One main feature of her intellectual character was the ardor, 
steadiness, and concentration of mind, with which she pursued every 

i Matt. x. 8. 

2 John vi. 38. Compare Romans xv. 3 — the example of the only being in the uni- 
verse, who had a right to please Himself, and yet who, in relinquishing this right, ex- 
hibits Himself as our Pattern no less than our Sacrifice. 

3 Matthew x. 20. 



168 MEMOIR OF MARY JANE GRAHAM. 

object of interest. This indeed distinguished her earliest and most 
unbended habits. Her youthful games were marked with the same 
intensity of feeling, which she subsequently applied to her more 
important objects. She engaged in games of imagination, -as one 
of her companions remarks, with all the earnestness of reality, and 
acted a fictitious character with an expression, that proved her to be 
totally absorbed in it. Thus it was with reading or with work. 
No efforts or entreaties could avail to divert her mind from the 
object which was then engaging her attention, to any ofeher employ- 
ment or recreation. In the occupations of after-life, whether it was 
music, the languages, mathematics, or chemistry, it was still the 
same warmth and fixedness of mind. The early dawn not unfre- 
quently found her (after she had girded on her Christian armor) 
deeply engaged in her studies. The spirit and result of her inves- 
tigations often entered into her common conversation, wherever she 
met with a kindred mind — not however in any display of pedantry, 
(than which nothing was more removed from her temper,) but in 
the natural flow of her spirits, and with a lively endeavor to com- 
municate a reciprocal interest. The simplicity and elastic spring of 
her mind was also remarkably illustrated in her peculiar faculty of 
drawing out the mental resources of those with whom she conversed ; 
so that, though they could not but be sensible of her great superi- 
ority, yet they appeared to themselves often to possess a greater 
strength of mind, and variety of conception, than they had before 
been conscious of. Perhaps however the completeness of her intel- 
lectual character appeared in the well-regulated application of her 
mental powers. To subjects of taste — such as music and poetry — 
she brought a glow of feeling and of imagination, that quickens the 
pulse of her readers, and plays upon the passions with an irresistible 
charm. On the other hand, matters of a graver cast, such as the 
highly valuable discussions of her mathematical manuscript, are 
drawn out with the sober accuracy of a reflecting and discriminating 
judgment. The illustrations that have been given of her musical 
excitement might almost lead us to suppose that this was the 
atmosphere in which she lived, and that she could breathe in no 
other ; yet was this fervid enthusiasm disciplined by the apprehen- 
sion of the preponderance of this indulgent taste above more solid 
pursuits. 1 Thus was her fine imagination furnished with a pro- 
portionate counterpoise in the master-principle of her ever active 
mind. 

As to her Christian character — this highest style of man — that 
energy of feeling and industry of habit which gave the impulse to 
her intellectual studies, no less strongly marked the temperament 
of her religion. Though she had a clear perception that the bless- 
ing she sought was a free gift, yet she expected the attainment of it, 
like that of every important object of pursuit, only in the constant 
use of the appointed means. She was therefore led to cherish the 

J See pp. 40, 135. 






MEMOIR OF MARY JANE GRAHAM. 169 

principles of her Christian profession, in a spirit of earnest and 
prayerful searching of the Scriptures ; and thus was she enabled to 
exhibit the graces of the Gospel in lovely combination and practical 
exercise. 

In giving, however, a detailed sketch of Miss Graham's spiritual 
character, we would premise, that it was marked by that variation 
of feeling, which is so often alluded to in her correspondence, 1 and 
which, though common to all cases of Christian experience, her 
remarkable elevation of spirituality rendered more visible than in 
most other cases. The difference of her feelings was often discerni- 
ble in her countenance. On some seasons it was irradiated with a 
peculiar expression of heavenly feature. She was manifestly filled 
with the love of God, and "out of the abundance of her heart her 
mouth would speak." At other times it was with difficulty that 
she could be induced to converse upon religious subjects ; and she 
would turn from them to enter upon topics exclusively intellectual. 
But this view of her character cannot better be described than in the 
language of her most intimate and confidential friend. 

1 1 did not notice any infirmity in her Christian character, except 
the one she herself often mentions — inequality. The difference in 
spiritual feeling was more visible in her than in any other Christian 
I have known. When in a state of warm feeling, she was more 
entirely engrossed by the subjeet than any one I ever met with. 
Nothing else could interest her. When her mind was less under 
the influence of heavenly things, the difference was obvious. I do 
not mean by her giving way to any sinful temper or feeling, but by 
her conversing with pleasure and interest upon merely earthly 
things. Nor do I think that at these times she sunk much, if at 
all, below the usual standard. Ordinarily she rose, I should think, 
above it.' 

The general tone, however, of her habit, both contemplative and 
active, manifested the habitual operation of a high measure of Divine 
influence ; while her occasional depressions seem not to have sunk 
her below the ordinary level, and were doubtless connected with 
those exercises of humiliation described in her correspondence, 
which will find their response in the hearts of many of her readers, 

We now proceed to the chief object of this work, a detailed devel- 
opment of the most prominent feature of Miss Graham's Christian 
character. 

In a compassionate concern for the unconverted, she had deeply 
imbibed the spirit of her beloved Master. ' I see,' as she writes to a 
friend, ' more need than ever to pray, not only for the souls of others, 
but for a spirit of love to souls, and for a sense of their inestimable 
value.' She had diligently improved the opportunities of her health, 
in pleading with the careless and unbelieving, and in every exercise 
of tender anxiety on their behalf. In the chamber of pain and 
sickness, their awful condition intensely occupied her mind ; and the 

» See her letter, p. 109. 



170 MEMOIR OF MARY JANE GRAHAM. 

long and u wearisome nights appointed" her, were often engaged in 
intercession for their souls. 

' When first I visited her' — observed the dear brother, who was 
the privileged attendant upon her sick bed — ' hearing of a poor 
woman in a dangerous state, and unconcerned about her eternal 
interests, she eagerly inquired of me respecting her soul, and begged 
me most earnestly to pray for her. She spoke with a peculiar in- 
terest, as if she felt what it was for a soul to be lost.' Indeed her 
minister expresses himself to have been continually struck with her 
deep tone of anxiety on the state of the parish. If she heard of 
any that were awakened from a fearful state of stupidity and death, 
it was always with the most lively expressions of delight. Often 
was she known to shed tears of joy upon any symptom of hope and 
encouragement respecting them that were brought before her. She 
felt the responsibility of every opportunity of addressing her fellow- 
sinners, whether rich or poor, upon the immensely momentous con- 
cerns of eternity ; and when unable to seek after them, she longed 
to bring them into her sick room, within the reach of her solemn 
and affectionate exhortations ; though a restless night was the ex- 
pected result of this ardent excitement. It was her great desire to 
bring her whole family, all her friends and neighbors, to Christ and 
to heaven with her. Though suffering under excruciating pain, 
and her " soul breaking out with longing desires" for a sight of 
Christ in his glory : yet, when speaking of the perishing state of 
sinners, she would say — 'Oh ! I would gladly live a hundred years, 
if I might be the means of saving one soul.' Shortly before her 
death, when in a state of great exhaustion, she begged her minister 
to pray for an infidel, who had an opportunity of seeing her ' Test 
of Truth,' as it passed through the press — ' Weak as the work is' — 
she said in her deep humility — ' it may prove a blessing to his soul.' 

A few extracts from her correspondence will afford striking illus- 
tration of the deep feeling of her Christian responsibility and love. 
The first letter relates to an unhappy female, who had been brought 
under her notice. Being unable personally to attend to her case, 
she thus warmly enforces it upon her friend, who was, jointly with 
herself, interested in it. 

' Dec. 18, 1827. 
£ My chief reason for writing to-day is, that this poor wretched 
girl dwells upon my mind. You make good reflections, but these 
very reflections ought to lead us to do something for her. She 
must be very young ; and if we do not make an effort to save her 
from destruction, I think that we shall indeed have much to an- 
swer for. Her not belonging to us, ought to be no excuse for our 
not concerning ourselves about her. For does she not belong to the 
large family of lost sinners, to which we once belonged ? And may 
we not be the means of removing her thence into the family of 
saved sinners, of which God's mercy has made us members ? I 
cannot rest till something is tried. So young, and so brought up, 



MEMOIR OF MARY JANE GRAHAM. 171 

what better could be expected from her ? What should we have 
been under her disadvantages ? I tremble even to think of it ; and 
for very thankfulness we ought to leave nothing untried to save her. 
She has been also brought under our notice by a peculiar provi- 
dence, which is, I think, a call to the work.' 

To this wretched object of distress, she addressed a letter full of 
tender and awakening exhortations. To her great concern, how- 
ever, this messenger of mercy never reached the hands of her for 
whom it was intended, and who was soon afterwards transported. 
Shortly afterwards she again stimulates her friend to this work of 
love, with the solemn impulse connected with the concerns of a 
never-dying soul. 

'Jan. 11, 1828. 

( I beseech you to reflect, that on one hand this girl may be a 
subject of regret to you upon your bed of death. On the other 
hand, she may be to you a " crown of rejoicing in the day of the 
Lord Jesus." ' 

The fervor that pervades the following letter is deeply affecting. 

I March 18, 1828. 
c But why should I say I have nothing to write about ? I am 
really ashamed of the folly of the last sentence, and of the frivo- 
lous temper which dictated it. Yes, my dear friend, if we love the 
Lord Jesus, we have always a subject of the deepest interest- 
enough to employ our tongue and our pen, both morning, noon, and 
night. I would fain make him the subject of our communication 
here, as I trust he will be the theme of our songs and praises in 
heaven ; and firmly believing, as I do, that there is neither praise 
nor lasting joy for those who place their happiness in anything 
short of loving him ; can I do otherwise than tell you how very 
earnestly I wish that you may be led by his grace to make him your 

all in all ? May his Holy Spirit lead us, my dear M ; for, in 

short, ail are sinners, by nature as well as by practice, altogether 
alienated from God, to whom we can only be " made nigh by the 
blood of Jesus." 1 Do not let us deceive ourselves in so important a 
subject. If we are walking in the same way with the world around 
us, we are not walking in the narrow way which leads to life ; nor 
can we be the followers of that Saviour, " who gave himself for us, 
that He might deliver us from this evil world." 2 There is a peace 
which the world knoweth not of, and a joy, in which all its boasted 
pleasures are but vanity. This is the peace and joy which I would 
entreat you to seek after. But you will say to me, ' Why do you 
recommend it ? and why are you so uncharitable as to suppose I do 
not possess it already ? It is because I know what a great and en- 
tire change it requires in the whole heart and character. I am sen- 
sible that such is the utter sinfulness of my own heart, that nothing 

i Eph. ii. 13. 2 Gal. i. 4. 



172 MEMOIR OF MARV JANE GRAHAM. 

but a divine influence could have led me to see anything in Christ 
crucified that was worth giving up all the world for. And may not 
the same Divine power snatch you as a brand from the burning, 
and lead you to the cross of Jesus for pardon and salvation ? This 
is the hope that induces me to venture upon writing to you so 
freely ; and the very affectionate interest I feel in everything relat- 
ing to you must plead my excuse, if, when I speak of a thing on 
which your eternity depends, I speak in the strong language which 
my anxiety suggests to me.' 

Some misconception of her correspondent gave rise to the next 
letter. 

' Your letter occasioned me much pain, and, I will add, per- 
plexity. I could not conceive from what part of mine you had dis- 
covered that I thought holiness unnecessary to a Christian. My 
dear friend, I know (for God has said) that "without holiness no 
man shall see the Lord :"* but I know (for God has said it too), 
that we cannot be holy of ourselves : " we are not sufficient of our- 
selves to think anything as of ourselves ;" and, " without me," saith 
Christ, " ye can do nothing." 2 As this is not a matter of little im- 
portance, but one of life and death, let me most earnestly and af- 
fectionately entreat you to make it the subject of unceasing prayer. 
" If any man lack wisdom, let him ask of God, who giveth to all 
men liberally." " Ask, and ye shall have." 3 The Scripture abounds 
with promises to those who make it the business of their lives to 
seek God. Allow me to mention one more, which always fills my 
mind with comfort and peace : — " Then shall ye call upon me, and 
ye shall go and pray unto me, and I will hearken unto you. And 
3^e shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with 
all your heart."* I have mentioned this way of prayer to you, be- 
cause I believe we might write about these things forever, without 
coming nearer to the truth. Prayer is the way of God's appoint- 
ment ; and I never knew anyone who really grayed earnestly and 
perseveringly for Divine teaching, that was not brought at length 
heartily to subscribe to what are called evangelical doctrines. The 
Scriptures take away all hope of our understanding these things of 
ourselves, when they tell us that the " natural man receiveth not 
the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness unto him." 5 
Foolish indeed does the doctrine of the cross appear to the heart un- 
taught by the Spirit of God ; but let the heart be once taught to 
receive it, and it beholds in it " the power and wisdom of God ;" 
and a person thus taught will feel constrained to make it his great 
desire, endeavor, and prayer that others may learn it too. There- 
fore if I could write volumes to you, the little word " pray" should 
be the burden of jhem all. By prayer I do not mean the cold thing 
which worldly people call prayer ; T mean such an effort as a man 

1 Hebrews xii. 14. 2 2 Cor. iii. 5. John xv. 5. 3 James i. 5 Matt. vii. 7- 

* Jer. xxix. 12, 13. s i Cor. ii. 14. 



MEMOIR OF MARY JANE GRAHAM. 173 

dying with hunger would use to beg for food ; I mean begging as 
for one's life, being able to say, as David did, " There is nothing in 

heaven or in earth that I desire beside thee." 1 Dear , I feel 

that I have spoken to you with great freedom and plainness : I can- 
not help it. If I saw a friend on the brink of a precipice, I would 
try to pull her away from it. I know that all who trust in any- 
thing but Christ for pardon and salvation are on the brink of eter- 
nal destruction ; and can I rest when any whom I love are in this 
state? I know, too, that unless God is pleased to bless what I have 
said, you will only think me a fool for my pains ; but this is of lit- 
tle consequence. Before another letter can pass between us, one 
or both of us may have entered into eternity, when every man's 
foundation that he trusted in will be tried : and it will be seen 
how miserably mistaken are those who build upon the sand, upon 
their own imperfect righteousness : while those alone who built 
upon the Rock of Ages will be safe. May you be one of those ! 
may you flee for refuge to Christ Jesus ! trust him for everything, 
follow him in everything; take him alone for your guide and 
teacher, and cease to " lean unto your own understanding." ' 

The next letter contains a faithful and affectionate appeal made 
to a beloved relative under affliction. It cannot fail of interesting 
the reader, as a specimen of that natural affection, which we have 
before noticed 2 under the constraining influence of the principles of 
the Gospel. 

£ Nov. 26, 1829. 
'How very sorry your letter has made us ! I can conceive noth- 
ing more heart-breaking, than the situation you are now all in. 

I entreat you most earnestly, my dearest , to seek comfort in 

earnest prayer, for your dear afflicted , and to try, by every 

means in your power, to lead him to the same source of comfort. I 
know he cannot now bear to have much said to him ; but a verse 
occasionaly read to him, or a short and affectionate prayer offered 
up with him, might be blessed by our merciful God to his eternal 
good. I will endeavor to join my prayers with yours; if it should 
please God to lead him to the source of all peace, you may one day 
look back with joy upon this affliction. May it lead you all to flee 
more earnestly for refuge to the hope that is set before you ! Tell 
my dear — — , with my most affectionate love, that I beseech him 
to think of, and to pray over these words — " Come unto me, all ye 
that are weary and heavy laden, and I will give you rest." 3 
Surely he may look upon this invitation as peculiarly addressed to 
himself. If ever there was one weary and heavy laden in mind and 

body, it is . O let me implore him to accept the offer which 

infinite mercy holds out to him : let him cast his weary soul upon 
the love of Jesus ; let him take all his sins and sorrows, ajid spread 
them at the feet of one who is willing to forgive, mighty to save, a 

i Psalm lxxiii. 25. 2 p age 146. 3 Matthew xi. 28. 



174 MEMOIR OF MARY JANE GRAHAM. 

present help in every time of trouble, to every one without excep- 
tion, who is willing to be forgiven, helped, saved, and abundantly 
comforted with, the comfort which springs from his love, and which 
is, like himself, infinite and eternal. 

O my deai' , with whom I have enjoyed so many happy 

hours, which will never fade from my memory ; from whom I have 
received such repeated acts of kindness ; and whom I love more as 
a parent than any other relation, suffer me to speak very earnestly 
to you ; and take my words, I entreat you, as kindly and affec- 
tionately as they are meant. I cannot but long and pray, that you 
may " be comforted with the consolation, wherewith I myself have 

been comforted of God." I have tried it, dearest : and I have 

tried the comfort which the world has to give; and I have found the 
one deep, and satisfactory, and lasting, and the other vain, and 
empty, and transitory. You are, as I am, a sinner, a miserable 
sinner ; and unless you flee to Jesus for refuge, you cannot escape 
the wrath of God, which is revealed against all sin. You have 
lived in the neglect of these things, and have cared too little what 
would become of your soul. But is this any reason for despair, or 
even for discouragement? Oh ! no. Christ still invites — nay, 
even beseeches — you to come to him ; and tells you in his word, 
that he is perfectly willing, and perfectly " able to save all that 
come unto God by him." The greatness of our sins need not pre- 
vent us ; for his u blood cleanseth from all sin :" he died for sin- 
ners, even the chief of sinners. Our ignorance need not dis- 
hearten us ; for he " teacheth sinners in the way." O come unto 
this "meek and lowly" this strong and mighty. Saviour ! He is 
too meek and gentle to reject, and too strong and faithful to disap- 
point any that come. Dear , my heart is full. What can 

I say to induce you to seek peace and happiness in the pardon 
of your sins through Jesus Christ ? It is but asking you to be full 
of happiness and joy ; for thus I know it will be with you, if you 
take the God of all comfort for your God. And do but think, how 
wonderful and unspeakable his condescension, in offering to be our 
God, and friend, and father ; " forever and ever, our guide even 
until death ;" 1 our "everlasting portion and reward." Only think, 
how dreadful that he should be willing to save us, and we un- 
willing to give ourselves up to be saved and blessed by him ! Can 
this be your case ? It must not — it must not be so with you. You 
cannot reject the invitations of the Gospel, and say to God, who 
beseeches you to be reconciled to him — ' No — I will not be recon- 
ciled ; I will not pray to the God of my salvation :' I am sure the 
thought strikes you with horror. You cannot rightly seek God 
without the aid of the Holy Spirit : but you will receive this aid 
upon asking; for "God will give his Holy Spirit to them that ask 
him?" 2 May he both teach you to pray, and hear and answer 
your prayer ! May he relieve your suffering body, if it be his will, 

i Psalm xlviii. 14. 2 Luke xi. 13. 



MEMOIR OF MARY JANE GRAHAM. 175 

and comfort your distressed soul ! Amen and Amen. — If my dear 

can bear thus much read to him, you will show it, or read it 

to him ; and let us both pray, that he may know and feel the joy 
of being united to Christ.' 

To another friend she wrote from her sick bed, nearly in the 
same strain. 

' I lie here sometimes, and think what a poor useless creature I 
am. But if I might be made the happy means of inducing my 
dear and kind friend to cast himself, and all his sorrows, and sins, 
and uneasiness, at the feet of the Saviour of sinners, then I should 
think I had indeed lived to some purpose. I have often wanted to 
write to you : but the fear that you would think me unkind or 
assuming in intruding my thoughts upon you, has prevented me 
But what a foolish and wicked fear this was, when the salvation of 

your precious soul was in question ! Yes, my dear , I will 

frankly own to you, that the sickness of your body, distressing as it 
is to me, afflicts me not half so much as the sickness of your soul 
I greatly fear that you have not yet found peace in the pardon of 
your sins through Jesus Christ. I write to you as a sinner saved 
by God's grace, to a sinner, whom the grace of God, and that alone, 
can save. I would not be so cruelly heartless as to flatter yon, and 
to say, " Peace, peace, while there is no peace." 1 But I do know 
that there is pardon and peace too, for every one, who feeling his 
sins to be many and grievous, flies to Jesus Christ for refuge ; and 
it is thus that I conjure you to fly to him. 

' O my dear , how long has this gracious Saviour been 

knocking at the door of your heart ! By his Scriptures, which you 
have read ; by the sermons and religious books that have come 
into your hands, by the secret strivings of his Spirit with your heart 
and conscience ; by the afflictions wherewith He has afflicted, and 
still afflicts you ; by all these things he knocks, he sues for admis- 
sion. He will not let you rest till you open the door : and why ? 
because he loves you : he would make you happy in this world, and 
happy forever. He would be to you a friend, on whom you might 
safely lean : on whose constant love you might safely confide ; one 
who would never leave nor forsake you ; never be weary of nor 
slight you ; never for one moment be unable or unwilling to listen 
to you, bless you, and relieve you. 

'Such a friend is Jesus Christ to all those who fly to him for 
salvation. May he be your friend and Saviour forever ! this is the 
sincere prayer of, M. J. G.' 

The tenderness and consideration with which she enforced these 
supremely-important subjects upon her young friends, is noticed 
by those who were experimentally acquainted with if. Her gentle- 
ness and self-command were often put to the test by the coldness, 

1 Jeremiah vi. 14. 



176 MEMOIR OF MARY JANE GRAHAM. 

petulance, or dislike with which her exhortations were received. 
But there was no reproach or upbraiding on her part— no anger or 
contempt on account of the foolish things that were said ; nor did 
she ever show the less interest in promoting amusements more 
after the heart of her companions. She was known sometimes to 
weep in tenderness, when a fault was confessed to her — but never 
at that time to reprove. Sometimes her humility and affectionate 
delicacy would rebuke the carelessness of her friend, by the acknowl- 
edgment of her own coldness and neglect. Thus she would lead 
her more thoughtless companion to unite with herself in supplication 
for pardon and grace. So truly was she " a fellow-worker with her 
God," in " drawing with the bands of love l'' 1 

Connected with this was her tender and Christian faithfulness 
in giving reproof where she considered it to be needed. To a 
beloved friend, complaining to her of a trial in the unjust suspicion 
of a relative, she exclaimed. 'Oh, my dear friend, it is all self; 
examine yourself; see if that idol self is not at the bottom of all this 
feeling of yours.' The result of self-inspection confirmed this judg- 
ment. The following is an instructive specimen of the mode and 
spirit, in which this high obligation of friendship will be most effec- 
tually discharged. After giving a slight sketch of some of the lead- 
ing doctrines of the Gospel, she brings them home in a direct and 
close application to the conscience of her friend. 

'And now, beloved , let me turn from every other considera- 
tion to yourself, and the state of your own mind. For you have 

rightly judged that I cannot think that the state of your , or 

any other person, ought to have the least influence in preventing 
you from seeking the salvation of your own soul. The question is 
not, what do others do to be saved ? But " what must I do to be 
saved V You tell me that I am severe. Indeed I would not 
willingly be so. A miserable sinner myself, saved only by the free 
mercy of God, what right have I to be severe upon others ? But I 
am "affectionately desirous of you" in the Lord Jesus, and therefore, 
as my beloved friend, I warn you. I fail in my duty to you, unless 
I tell you the truth. It may seem harsh to appear to have any 
doubt of your state ; but it is kinder to lead you to examine now, 
than to leave you to the bare possibility of finding yourself deceived 
when it is too late. If then what I am now going to say should 

seem to you more severe than ever, I entreat you, dearest , to 

forgive me for the sake of the motive which impels me to do so. 
Consider that I am not now speaking of any trifling thing. The 
more I loge you, the more impossible I find it to stand upon cer- 
emony, while I am trembling for your soul. My fears then about 
your state are not excited by what I have heard. Had you become 
a very decided and devoted Christian, I think I should have heard 
of it from many quarters. In some it would have been noticed with 
delight ; in others, with wonder : in others, with dislike and disap- 

1 Hosea xi. 4. 



MEMOIR OF MARY JANE GRAHAM. 177 

probation. But my fears are drawn chiefly from the querulous and 
worldly strain, in which most of your letters to me are written. I 
know that " if you have not the Spirit of Christ, you are none of 
his." 1 This Spirit must be known by its fruits. " And the fruits 
of the Spirit are love, joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness, good- 
ness, faith, meekness, temperance." 2 Now I look earnestly, anx- 
iously, for some of these fruits. I look for some sign that " the love 
of God is shed abroad in your heart by the Holy Ghost which is 
given to you." This love would show itself in love to others ; in 
love even to your enemies, if you had any. But I fear you are 
indulging in feelings little short of hatred to more than one of your 
fellow-creatures. I fear that wrath, strife, disputations, envyings, 
jealousies, are too often more predominant in your heart than love. 
Again I look for some evidence of that "joy and peace in believing," 
that " peace and joy in the Holy Ghost," which form so great a part 
of the " kingdom of God" within us. 3 Even mourning Christians 
must sometimes feel a little of this in their hearts. But sure I am, 
that if " the peace of God which passeth all understanding, did keep 
your heart and mind in Christ Jesus," you could not be so much 
fretted and discomposed by the petty discontents, and trials, and 
offences of a world, whose frowns and whose smiles you would feel 
to be equally beneath your regard. You would remember that your 
lot has been chosen for you by a wise and loving Father, and that 
the most vexatious events in it happen by his permission, and for 

your good. Whenever we feel inclined to murmur, dear , at 

" our light afflictions," let us think of those faithful servants of God, 
who " had trial of cruel mockings, and scourgings, yea, moreover, 
of bonds and imprisonments ; who were stoned, were sawn asunder, 
were tempted, were slain with the sword, who wandered about in 
sheep-skins and goat-skins, being destitute, afflicted, tormented." 4 
Yet these " destitute, afflicted, tormented" ones, " in patience posses- 
sed their souls." " The peace of God kept their hearts and minds ;" 
and shall it not keep ours, in our comparatively no-sufferings ? 
Now if these " fruits of the Spirit, love, joy, peace," flourish in the 
heart, they must show themselves to be there : and if the contrary 
dispositions — anger, dissatisfaction, restlessness, appear in their stead, 
it proves either that " we have not the Spirit of Christ, and there- 
fore are none of his ;" or else that we have " grieved that Holy 
Spirit," and caused him for a time to withdraw his sacred influences. 
In either case we ought not to rest till we have sought and obtained 
that " godly sorrow" for sin, " which worketh repentance unto salva- 
tion not to be repented of." s Where we may apply for this repent- 
ance, we are told in Acts v. 31. I will go on no longer in enumerat- 
ing these fruits of the Spirit ; for my business is not to judge you, 
but to lead you to judge and examine yourself. This I earnestly 
entreat you to do, " that you may not be judged of the Lord,'* 8 

i Rom. viii. 9. 2 Gal. v. 22, 23. 3 Romans xv. 13 ; xvL 17* 

* Heb. xi. 3G, 37. s 2 Cor. vii. 10, 11. «1 Cor. xi. 31, 

12 



178 



MEMOIR OF MARY JANE GRAHAM. 



And should you now, dearest , feel offended with me, it will 

give me the less uneasiness — both because I know you will not in 
the end love me the less for having faithfully discharged my con- 
science towards you before I die ; and because I know that you 
will view it in a very different light at our next meeting, which 
will, I hope and trust, be around the throne of God and the Lamb.' 

Her love to her Saviour must have been already prominently 
remarked by every intelligent reader. She lived much in distinct, 
deep, and fixed contemplation of him. Those parts of Scripture 
were especially valuable, that brought her into closer contact with 
the subject nearest her heart — the love of Christ. The book of 
Canticles was therefore to her " a garden of delights." Her pure 
and spiritual mind enabled her to study this holy book with the 
liveliest and most profitable interest. Many Christians, in an over- 
scrupulous delicacy and unscriptural taste, seem almost to have 
proscribed this portion of the sacred canon from their private medi- 
tation. The book indeed is an exposition of the heavenly privi- 
lege of communion with our divine Saviour. It can only therefore 
be understood by those who can say — " Truly our fellowship is 
with the Father, and with his Son Jesus Christ." 1 The perusal of 
it moreover must be admitted to require a peculiar abstraction from 
earthly things. But the Christian's heart under Divine teaching 
will be a spiritual interpreter of it ; and whenever it is approached 
with reverence, simplicit}^ and sanctity, it will tend much to the 
enkindling of holy affections in the endearing contemplation of con- 
descending love 2 — in a self-abasing sense of backslidings 3 — in a 
heavenly enjoyment of the presence of the Lord 4 — in commending 
his person to all around us 3 — in a panting desire for a closer com- 
munion with him 6 — and in a joyous anticipation of his coming. 7 

But Miss Graham's love to her Saviour was not confined to 
spiritual contemplation. It was a principle of incessant activity, 
directing her daily habit (to use her own beautiful language to one 
of her correspondents) to ' watch with the eye of love every intima- 
tion of his will, every leading of his Spirit.' Such is the difference 
between speculating upon religion, and feeling it — when the heart 
has " tasted that the Lord is gracious" — when the man is made " a 
new creature" — when his eyes have been opened to behold the beauty 
of his Saviour — and he is anxiously cultivating every temper of the 
Gospel, in which he may live above the world, and walk with Christ. 

Miss Graham's happy anticipations of eternity were connected 
with this love to her Saviour. That which gave, in her eyes, em- 
phasis and perfection to eternal bliss was — that it is all Christ — that 
the " Lamb is the light" 8 of the heavenly city. Thus we find her 
writing a new year's congratulation to a dear friend in the heart- 
stirring remembrance — that :i now is our salvation nearer than when 
we believed." 9 



1 1 John i. 3. 
4 Cant. ii. 3—13. 
7 Cant, verse 14. 



2 Cant. i. 1—4. 
s Ibid. v. ix. 16. 
8 Rev. xxi. 23. 



3 Ibid. v. 2—6. 
6 Ibid. viii. 6. 
9 Rom. xiii. 11. 



MEMOIR OF MARY JANE GRAHAM. 179 

{ Stoke, Jan. 1, 1827. 

' This time last year we were together. Does it seem as if a year 
had passed since then ? Another year of sin on our part, and of 
mercy, free and uninterrupted, on the part of our Jesus ! There is 
something very sweet in the thought that we are a year nearer to 
his bosom ; that every year will pass as swiftly as the last, till he 
calls us to himself; and that nothing can happen next year, or any 
following year, which can possibly separate us one single moment 
from his love. Perhaps this time next year we may be like him, 
" seeing him as he is," joining in a song new indeed to our tongues, 
because it will be a triumphant song, and a holy and an everlasting 
song.' 

Her love of grayer formed one of the main features of her 
character. Every habit of her mind appeared to flow in the spirit 
and atmosphere of prayer. The playful exercises of her youth 
were indulged in this sanctified temperament. When her cousin 
visited her, the day was usually commenced with a chapter from 
her favorite Bible, accompanied with prayer, that they might both 
love and serve Him, of whom that book testified. This service 
performed, she instantly turned all the warmth and animation of 
her affectionate temper, and all the powers of her highly-gifted 
mind, to the amusement of her companion. We have already no- 
ticed the connection of this habit with her intellectual employ- 
ments, whether indulging her own gratifications, or superintending 
the instruction of her cousin. 1 Hers was not'the unsanctified study, 
which is glitter, not gold. All was consecrated to the supreme ob- 
ject of life, and directed to this object by the constant influence of 
that principle, which ennobles earthly occupations, and stamps them 
with a heavenly glory. The occasional visits of her young friends 
found her in the same spiritual habit. ' Seldom,' as one of her 
school-fellows has recorded, ' did I enter her little room, but she 
proposed the reading of the Bible, and would pour out her soul be- 
fore her God with holy fervor and simplicity.' Her public exercises 
of Christian devotedness were conducted in the same spirit. When 
engaged in the work of Sunday School tuition, she had her set 
times of prayer with her young cousin, who was at that time asso- 
ciated with her (for themselves, their fellow-laborers, and their re- 
sponsible charge) ; and frequently she would offer distinct and sep- 
arate supplication for each child in their classes. Her responsi- 
bility as a member of the ransomed family of God, led her (as 
we rind from a letter shortly to be adduced) 2 in the true spirit of 
sympathy to devote an hour every evening mainly to the subject 
of intercessory prayer. Besides these constant occasions, she set 
apart special time for secret dedication and communion with 
God. New-year's day and birth-days were among these privileged 
seasons. It was one of her favorite plans to set apart occasionally 
a certain time exclusively for prayer and scripture reading ; and for 

i See page 37. 2 See page 183. 



180 MEMOIR OF MARY JANE GRAHAM. 

this purpose all her other employments were removed from her 
sight. This was her preparation for any special engagement that 
was prospectively before her ; and this course she recommended to 
her friends with beneficial effect. 1 Another custom of somewhat 
similar character (and one that is happily making advance through- 
out the church in our day) was to prevail upon her confidential 
friends to set apart definite hours, when distant friends could meet 
together in one heart and one soul at the throne of their common 
Lord. Thus in the most extensive meaning of the scriptural pre- 
cept, she might be said to " pray without ceasing ;" and, like the 
man after God's heart, "to give herself unto prayer." 

Love to the whole word of God was also a prominent feature 
in her character. Indications of this holy pleasurable taste were 
visible in her childhood, in the large portions which she committed 
to memory. 2 In an early excursion with one of her young friends, 
we find her reproaching herself for the small proportion of time, 
which she had consecrated to the study of this precious volume. 
Whatever might be the ground for this self-accusation, it was how- 
ever intended as a hint to her less thoughtful companion, and to in- 
troduce before her a plan that might be useful to them both — that 
of repeating portions of Scripture to each other when they met. 
Thus she made her own self-condemnation the vehicle of instruc- 
tion to her friend. Generally speaking, she read the Sacred Book 
as a pleasure, not as a task. It seemed to be her constant food and 
study. She did, indeed, a esteem the words of God's mouth more 
than her necessary food." 3 They " were found, and she did eat. 
them ; and they were to her as the joy and rejoicing of her heart." 4 
They were to her what Melancthon calls ' that sacred manna of the 
soul, to which St. Paul alludes, when he speaks of spiritually dis- 
cerning' the sacred pages. Often under protracted bodily and spir- 
itual trials, the promises were to her " as cold waters to a thirsty 
soul ;" yea, as w life from the dead." So eager was her appetite for 
this heavenly manna, that, not satisfied with her own gathering, 
she was always longing to feed upon the fruits of the industry of 
her friends. Thus in one of her letters we find her entreating her 
confidential correspondent to communicate to her any additional 
and interesting light, which had been found in the course of her 
scriptural research. Even in those seasons of special consecration 
just alluded to, when she found her mind indisposed for spiritual 
reading, she w T ould still cleave exclusively to the Scriptures, and 
give up her time and mind to learning large portions of this holy 
book. It was her practice to read through different books of scrip- 
ture with a close and persevering habit of meditation and prayer, 
always keeping in mind her Masters stimulating motive to the 

1 See a reference to this plan in her letter, p. 47. In another letter she again alludes 

to it — ' I have made a proposal to . I wish her to read a chapter in the Testament 

every day, beginning with the Gospel of St. Matthew. I will every day read the same 
chapter, and (God helping me) give some time to pray, that every verse may be explained 
and blessed to her. I hope much from this method. 

1 See p. 12. 2 Jobxxiii. 12. 3 Jer. xv. 16. 



MEMOIR OF MARY JANE GRAHAM. 18l 

search — " For they are they which testify of me." 1 Hence she was 
delighted in the course of her study of the Book of Proverbs, to have 
Christ so much and so frequently brought before her mind ; 2 a rec- 
ollection of great moment for the spiritual discernment of the divine 
wisdom treasured up in this storehouse of practical instruction. The 
encouraging promise held out to diligent investigators of the sacred 
volume 3 on one occasion fixed her in intense meditation for up- 
wards of two hours. She appeared to be lost in astonishment and 
gratitude at the condescension and kindness of God, in giving a 
promise so rich, so free, so encouraging. She grasped it, as if de- 
termined not to let it go. She frequently employed herself in the 
profitable exercise of "comparing spiritual things with spiritual ;"* 
— Scripture with itself; thus making God his own interpreter. 
Much light and heavenly unction she conceived herself to have ob- 
tained by this means, which were manifested to others, uncon- 
sciously to herself, in her striking remarks, and apt illustrations of 
passages presented to her. The wholeness of her study already 
noticed 5 is worthy of careful consideration. There was no exclu- 
sive regard or undue prominence given to portions of the sacred 
book. " All" was regarded as " given by inspiration of God," and 
therefore profitable for the specific purposes for which it was written, 
and which it is the exercise of prayer and diligence to investigate. 

But we will state her admirable views of the temper requisite for 
the study of the Sacred Book in her own words. 

' We shall never' — she remarks — ' become perfectly reconciled to 
all parts of the word of God, until He himself bestows on us the 
spirit and temper of a little child, to receive, without murmuring or 
disputings or carnal reasonings, whatsoever Jehovah the Spirit is 
pleased to say to us. That Spirit alone can take away the evil 
heart of unbelief, which prevents us from embracing the lohole 
counsel of God as revealed in his word. It is he that must open 
our hearts to attend to all the things written in his law. Then 
we shall perceive a connection and a harmony between every part 
and every doctrine of the Scriptures, which will fill us with ever- 
increasing wonder and delight.' 6 

Her child-like simplicity was the spirit of the most profound rev- 
erence. It is most edifying to remark her humble adoring search 
into " the deep things of God," as contrasted with the unhallowed 
boldness with which these unfathomable depths are too often ex- 
plored. After noticing objections to her views of the doctrine of 
election, she checks herself — 

1 But I stop ; " he that reproveth God, let him answer it." 7 All 
these mysteries can be accounted for only by referring them to the 
inscrutable mystery of God's predestination. To the eye of carnal 
reason they lie involved in the thickest obscurity ; but the eye of 
faith sees in them no darkness at all. For faith, instead of vainly 

1 John v. 39. 2 See Chap. i. viii. ix. &c. 3 Prov. ii. 1 — 6. 

* 1 Cor. ii. 13. 5 See her letter, p. 97. e Freeness of Grace, p. 55. 

7 Job. xi. 2. 



i82 MEMOIR OF MARY JANE GRAHAM. 

striving to pull these things down to the level of reason, soars far 
above reason ; resolves every difficulty into the gracious will or 
wise 'permission of God, and seeks to know no further. How 
many things are there which I know not, nor " can by" any 
" searching find out to perfection !" But Jesus knows them all. 
With this assurance I sit down, fully satisfied He will teach them 
to me hereafter, as I am able to bear it. In the meantime " I will 
trust, and not be afraid." All that my God says to me I will im- 
plicitly believe, for I know that " every word of God is pure." B All 
the words of his mouth are in righteousness ; there is nothing 
fro ward or perverse in them : they are all plain to him I hat under- 
standeth, and right to them that find knowledge." 1 When I come 
to see God as he is, and to " know even as also I am known," I shall 
find that all these mysteries of his word and will were only ' dark 
with excessive light.' In the meantime, till I have the eagle eye 
that can gaze undazzled at his glories, I will view them at humble 
distance through the glass of faith, which he has given me for this 
purpose ; nor will I dare to repine, because I can only see them in 
a glass darkly. 2 Thus faith removes every objection, stills every 
murmur, and silences every doubtful thought.' 

This " trembling at God's word," is the spirit which our Lord 
" delighteth to honor" 3 with special manifestations of his favor. 
" The secret of the Lord is with them that fear him ; and he will 
show them his covenant." 4 This temper will stimulate to an 
earnest and diligent search ; while it will repress a presumptuous 
intrusion. It will lead to the reception of every truth upon this 
formal reason — that it is the word of God. Every truth, though 
it should not be considered of equal importance, must be regarded 
with equal reverence ; never forgetting that God is the Author of 
every particle of revelation. Therefore to reject any one ' jot or 
tittle of if — as Dr. Owen has excellently observed, 'is a sufficient 
demonstration, that no one jot or tittle of it is received as it ought. 
Upon whatever this title and inscription is — ' The Word of Je- 
hovah" — there must we stoop, and bow down our souls before it, 
and captivate our understandings to the obedience of faith.' 5 

Her love for the ordinances of God is worthy of special remark. 
And this inded is the pulse of the soul — not attendance on the?n, 
but delight in them — fellowship with the panting desires of the 
holy Psalmist, when he envied even the birds who inhabited the 
pinnacles of the temple, and the priests who were always employed 
in its service ; and for himself counted " a day spent in God's courts 
better than a thousand" spent elsewhere. 6 The house of God had 
been to her in the time of health " the gate of heaven." 7 In her 
time of affliction, ministers and ordinances were to her " wells of 
salvation," from whence she " drew water with joy." 8 " Beautiful*' 
in her eyes K were the feet of him that bringeth good tidings, that 

1 Prov. xxx. 5; via. 8, 9. 2 1 Cor. xiii. 12. 3 Isaiah lxvi. 2. 

4 Psalm xxv. 14. 5 Owen on Perseverance, chap. x. 6 Psalm lxxxiv. 

"' Gen. xxviii. 17. 8 Isaiah xii. 3. 



MEMOIR OF MARY JANE GRAHAM. 183 

publisheth peace." 1 She loved the messengers of the Gospel "for 
their work's sake," 2 and for their Master's sake. 3 She always ex- 
pressed the deepest anxiety to receive through them " a message 
from God ; ' to her soul. ' Pray before, as well as after, your visit,'' 
was her solemn entreaty to her beloved minister. 

We must not forget to mention her " love to the brethren" — that 
conscious and unequivocal mark of a transition " from death unto 
life." 4 She longed to see. converse, and enjoy fellowship with all 
who bore the image of her Lord ; and whether absent or present, 
she seemed to hold communion with them. Speaking of an ab- 
sent friend, who appeared to enjoy a deep sense of » the love of God 
upon her heart,' she said, ' I long to see her, that she may impart 
to me some spiritual gift.' On this subject she appears to have 
been drawn out with remarkable warmth and liveliness of Chris- 
tian feeling in her correspondence with her friends. To one of 
them she wrote thus — ' It is a great honor for us, who have been 
made partakers of the tempter's work, to be made partakers of the 
Saviour's — for us, who have been made a curse, to be made a 
blessing. But when I write to you in this way, it is not so much 
because I feel it, as because I want to feel it, and desire to be made 
the instrument of " stirring up this gift of God in you." ' 

What reader but must long to imbibe the blessed spirit of the 
two following letters ? 

< April 9, 1827. 
1 1 entreat you to think more of the privilege of intercession, and 
to make more use of it than ever. I find an indescribable delight in 
using these words, "Our Father," and in praising, confessing, and 
praying for myself as one of this large family — in praying for my- 
self as one of them, and in feeling their joys and sorrows as my 
own. And indeed if we wish above all things that the name of 
Jesus be glorified, is it not glorified in the spirituality of others as 
much as in our own ? And if we wish to be one with Jesus, 
should we not be also one with his elect ? Tell me your difficulties 
and necessities, that I may present them to Jesus with my own. I 
do not say this, because I think that I have the strength to do it. 
But Jesus, our God and our Lord (who is with me whilst I write, 
and who will be with you whilst you read this letter) has said to 
you and to me, " My grace is sufficient for you." ' O Lord Jesus ! 
see what I have written, and show that I do not expect too much 
from thee. Cause every affection of ours to be absorbed in thee ; 
and may all thy sheep love thee above all, and love one another as 
thou hast loved them !' Say — Amen to this prayer. And if you 
wish to know what to ask for me, ask that a spirit of perfect love, 
u which seeketh not her own," may be given me.' 

» Isaiah. Hi. 7. a l Thess. v. 13. 3 Luke x. 16. 

* 1 John Hi. 14. 



184 MEMOIR OF MARY JANE GRAHAM. 

Again, about a month after, to the same — 



1 May 5, 1827. 
1 I beseech you to seek earnestly " the communion of saints." 
This is the only progress I have made in the Divine life. 1 have 
received as a most precious and unmerited gift the power of feeling 
the things of the flock of Christ as if they were my own. You 
cannot imagine the happiness of this feeling. The means through 
which the Father has given it to me, has been the Lord's Prayer. 
I dedicate (not always, because I am so light and unstable, but 
generally) an hour every evening to prayer, and principally to 
intercession. I generally begin with the thanks due to God, for 
having made himself known to us as our Father, for all that he has 
done for every one of his sheep on that day. It is impossible for me 
to tell you the great delight of thus mixing myself up with the peo- 
ple of Christ, and of considering their benefits as my own. The 
thought which transports me the most, is that of how many souls 
have been perhaps this day joined to the church ! how many suc- 
cored under temptation ! how many recovered from their back- 
slidings ! how many filled with consolation ! how many transported 
by death into the bosom of Christ! It delights me much also to 
consider, that all the elect, who are not yet converted, have been 
and will be preserved till they are called by the Divine Spirit. I 
then try to pray for that sweet " we," and to think of the necessities 
of my Christian friends. Besides, I have a list of unconverted per- 
sons for whom I wish to pray. I do entreat you to study with prayer 
the thirteenth chapter of 1st Corinthians. I am most anxious that 
you should enjoy this happiness ; and if you ask, you will do so.' 

In the next letter Ave find her mind exercised upon this interest- 
ing subject. 

4 It seemed to me when I last wrote to you, that the law of love 
to the brethren was engraven on my heart. But I feel little of it 
now. It was like writing on sand. Oh ! that all the flock of 
Christ had more, very much more, of this law. Oh that thirteenth 
of Corinthians ! Do read and pray over it. There is love — such 
love as we want — the whole law written in our hearts. I wish the 
Lord would give me to say something to stir you up to pray more 
for love ; and then, when you are quite full of love, that he would 
make you the means of conveying it to me. I would have you 
pray over 1 John iv. 16 — 21, as well as 1 Cor. xiii. We must first 
" know and believe the love which God hath towards us." That 
will make us love.' 

To another beloved friend she expresses herself with similar 
warmth and intensity. 

"How shall I, who am so full of sin, think to say anything that 
may be useful to you, my dear friend ? Yet perhaps " the comfort 



MEMOIR OF MARY JANE GRAHA31. 185 

wherewith I have been comforted of God," in trying to spread your 
sorrows before him, may be communicated to your soul, while I am 
telling you of it ; for blessed be Jesus — we are all one — members of 
the same body. "It is given us in behalf of Christ to suffer," 1 and 
rejoice with one another. When I was trying to pray, I endeavored 
(o think of a verse, which I might plead with God, and which might 
eucourage myself. The Lord put this into my heart — " Neither 
pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me 
through their word — {for us ;) that they all may be one ; as thou, 
Father, art in T3, and I in thee, that they also may be one in 
us. v ~ But oh ! the comfort that filled my soul, when I thought 
that Jesus had lifted up this prayer for you long before you were 
born ! that he has had it in his heart for you (and for me too, and 
all God's people, who all need it as much) ever since ! and he is 
praying the same thing for us now ! and finally that " the Father 
heareth him always /" 3 Therefore, the Father has heard, does 
hear, and will hear, this most gracious petition, which the Lord 
Jesus offered in the midst of his disciples, and which God the Spirit 
brought to their remembrance for our eneouragement — " that we all 
may be one, as he is one with the Father." Yes — and we all shall 
be one, though Satan and all his angels conspire to divide us. He 
can no more separate us from the love of one another, than he " can 
separate us from the love of Christ." Truly, we have fellowship 
one with another ; and " we know that we have passed from death 
unto life, because we love the brethren." 4 May you be enabled to 
use more boldness at the throne of grace, to "draw near in full 
assurance of faith," and claim what Jesus, who cannot ask in vain, 
has asked of the Father for you — a full and abiding enjoyment of 
that love to the brethren — that fellowship — that oneness with the 
saints, which is just as much yours as Christ is yours ! It is a part 
of your purchased possession ; and nothing can keep you out of 
your right, but your own want of faith to plead that right with a 
God, who is more ready to give than we to ask.' 

Would that these enlivening sentiments of Christian love were 
universally diffused ! Our Lord's wonderful prayer 5 on this subject 
is indeed, as Miss Graham observes, an answered prayer — that is — 
in its incipient and progressive results. Yet it is only a specimen 
of that intercession, with which he has pledged himself, that " for 
Zion's sake he will not hold his peace, and for Jerusalem's sake 
he will not rest," until his Father shall make his "Jerusalem a 
praise in the earth." 6 The plenary blessing is yet in store for us. 
We want increased exertion and expectancy as a means of prepara- 
tion for it. We want to change our indolent anticipation of this 
union perfected in heaven for the immediate personal exercises of 
faith, patience, forbearance, and humility, by which " our hearts 
may be knit together in love," 7 even in the midst of the incessant 

i Phil. i. 29. 2 j hn xvii. 20, 21. 3 ibid xi. 42. 4 ] j hn iii. 14. 

s John xvii. 21. 6 i sa iah Ixii. 1, 7. 7 Col. ii. 1. 



186 MEMOIR OF MARY JANE GRAHAM. 

conflicts of the church ; and we shall then be ready to help each 
other's labors, and hail each other's success. 

The present aspect of the church is indeed most afflicting. We 
would not narrow the necessary breach between the church and the 
world by any compromise of principle or of conscience. But how 
painful is it to " see the breaches of the city of David, that they are 
many I" 1 When will our Zion appear in "the perfection of beau- 
ty" — as " a city compact together?" 2 ''For the divisions of " one 
tribe in Israel " there were great searchings of heart." 3 How care- 
ful, therefore, ought the scrutiny to be, when the evil spirit appears 
to be spreading throughout the whole camp ! It is not an ideal 
prospect that w r e picture to our imagination — but that " good and 
pleasant sight" to behold of " brethren dwelling together in unity." 4 
Such was the church in her primitive glory, when " the whole 
multitude of them that believed were of one heart and of one 
soul" 5 — when ' the church — as Chrysostom observes — 'was a little 
heaven.' 

The motives to attempt, as far as in us lies, the restoration of 
this glory to the church, are most constraining — such as fellowship 
with the spirit and prayer of our glorious Head — his honor in the 
world exalted by this heavenly spectacle — the Church in every part 
"edifying itself in love" 7 — the Christian profession established 8 — 
and the consoling privileges of the Gospel manifested and enjoyed. 9 

The strength to promote this union in the Church will be found 
in deep self-abasement and wrestling intercession with our God. 
Let us enter into the spirit of the earnest pleadings of the " man 
after God's heart" for his people. " O God, thou hast cast us off; 
thou hast scattered us : thou hast been displeased ; O turn thyself 
to us again. Thou hast made the earth to tremble ; thou hast 
broken it ; heal the breaches thereof, for it shaketh." 10 Impossible 
that " the Lord should" long u be angry against the prayer of his 
people I" 11 

The scriptural rules for maintaining this union are most simple 
and explicit. " Whereunto we have already attained, let us walk 
by the same rule ; let us mind the same thing." " Him that is 
weak in the faith, receive" — not cast off. " We that are strong 
ought to bear the infirmities of the weak, and not to please our- 
selves." 12 These rules are enforced by the example, no less than by 
the authority of our gracious Head, and directed to the highest end — 
" Receive ye one another, as Christ also receiveth us, to the glory 
of God" id Great indeed is the difficulty of holding conscientious 
differences in brotherly love. We are too apt to magnify the points 
of difference, while the due proportion of the points of agreement is 
somewhat obscured. We are more ready to dispute upon the points 

i Isaiah xxii. 9. 2 Psalm 1. 2; exxii. 3. 3 Judges v. 16. 

5 Psalm exxxiii. 1. 5 Acts iv. 32. 6 j onn xvii. 21. 

i Ephes. iv. 16. 8 Phil. i. 27. s Ibid. ii. 1, 2. 

io Psalm lx. 1, 2. u Ibid. lxxx. 4. « Phil. iii. 16. Rom. xvi. 1; xv. 1. 
3 Rom. xv. 7. 



MEMOIR OF MARY JANE GRAHAM. 187 

of controversy, than to strengthen each other's faith and love upon 
the principles of the Gospel. Thus our inordinate love of our own 
opinions leads us to press them beyond their legitimate bounds, and 
even beyond our sober intention ; and from this defect of connect- 
ing humility and forbearance with faith, many schisms arise in the 
body. 

Would that there were among us one heart and one purpose, to 
exalt our Divine Master — to let every name be lost in His — to de- 
sire no name to be great but His ! But the canker of the church 
is that party spirit — more or less common to all — which unites the 
several communities upon their own private grounds, instead of 
forming a rallying point for the whole body. A tame compromise 
of conscience is indeed greatly to be deprecated. Yet, unless pri- 
vate selfishness, (sometimes cloaking itself under the garb of con- 
science,) and party Shibboleths be merged in Christian love, no holy 
brotherly communion can exist. We do not expect brother to yield 
to brother, but each to submit his conscience to his great Head — 
each member to grow up into Him, and to recollect that he has 
some individual sentiment to forbear, from a considerate regard to 
the unity of the body. It seems to be forgotten that Divine truth 
in all its parts and connections is fully revealed to none — that the 
degrees of attainment in scriptural knowledge are indefinitely varied 
— that every difference in religion, is not a different religion — that 
there is a want of perfection and singleness in the clearest eye, that 
is an inlet for the partial introduction of darkness — and that all of 
us are more or less criminally warped by the school in which we 
have been trained, by the atmosphere in which we live, or by the 
difference of our own tempers and habits of thinking. Hence it is 
evident, that a sincere reception of the first principles of the Gospel 
lays a solid basis for mutual affection ; and that in lesser points 
" forbearing one another in love," is the only effectual means of 
" keeping the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace." 1 Indeed, 
' substantial harmony, combined with circumstantial variety,' (as 
Paley remarks of the evidence of testimony) is the only practicable 
catholicity ; and to attempt a more entire agreement in detail would 
be a certain breach in the concord of the universal church. Yet, 
though unity of opinion is impracticable, unity of faith is to be con- 
stantly aimed at ; and this may be consistent with a great diversity 
of individual character, and even with many shades of doctrinal 
differences. 

But let us not be " ignorant of Satan's devices." 2 Too success- 
fully does he succeed by division among the friends of Christ, to 
prevent the united assault upon his own kingdom. Let us descend 
from our lesser disputes to the field of the conflict between the great 
powers of light and darkness. Let us "come to the help of the 
Lord — to the help of the Lord against the mighty." 3 The voice of 
God to his church is, " Love the truth and peace"* We love 

1 Ephesians iv. 2, 3. 2 2 Cor. ii. 11. 

3 Judges v. 23. 4 z ec h. viii. 19. Comp. Rom. xiv. 19. 






188 MEMOIR OF MARY JANE GRAHAM. 

neither, if we love not both. If in the professed cause of " truth" 
we tear the consciences of our brethren, and wound the " peace" of 
the church, perhaps we may expect one common storm, one uniting 
bond of suffering, to be the Lord's appointed means of humbling 
and chastising his church, and accomplishing his gracious purposes 
by the instruments of his loving correction. 



CHAPTER VI. 

HER ILLNESS AND DEATH. 

The period of her illness embraces a large portion of what in her 
case, as her father observes, ' might not be untruly called, " that 
long disease — her life." ' From her childhood, her health was very 
delicate; and the long illness which occasioned her leaving school, 
left a debility in her constitution, from which she suffered more or 
less to the end of life. Violent pains in her head, chest, and side, 
appeared however to be the commencement of that disease, which 
gradually developed a fatal character. For some years she was in- 
deed able to exert herself, (too often much beyond her strength), 
both in bodily and mental activity. She continued her intellectual 
studies with her usual vigor, till about a year after her settlement 
in Devon ; when increasing illness constrained her to send her 
young pupil to school, and she was never afterwards enabled, 
though she much wished it, to resume the care of her education. 
From that time she became a decided invalid ; and except in the 
year 1827, (when she changed the scene for the benefit of her 
health,) she never moved beyond the garden, and only two or three 
times ventured into the outward air. 1 For the last two years she 
was entirely confined to her room, and unable to be dressed. Dur- 
ing the whole of this period, her anxious mother slept in her cham- 
ber, watching over her with the most unremitting tenderness. She 
generally kept her bed, till within the last seven or eight months, 
when a violent cough, and spasms in the heart, prevented a re 
dining position, except when she was compelled to return to it by 
fainting and exhaustion. The only reusorce was a chair well sup- 
ported with pillows, in which she sat up day and night, and from 
which the assistance of three persons was required to remove her 
during the last few weeks of her life. She appeared, however, to 
suffer less from debility than many invalids. For though she was 
wholly unable to stand, yet a change of medical regimen appeared 
to give her temporary relief from distressing helplessness. 

In this state of wearisome languor and pain, her mind, however, 
was always vigorous and full of energy. She never seemed to 
know an idle moment. During the whole period of confinement to 
her bed, she was always surrounded with books, or other objects 

1 Of one of these times the following memorandum occurs in a letter to her cousin. 
' To-day, I know not how, all my illness seems to have disappeared, and I feel much 
better, so that I have been out in the garden the second time since you left me. Ah! 
how delightful the weather was ; what pleasure I felt in breathing the fresh air, in see- 
ing the trees which begin to bud, the spring flowers which are appearing, and in hear- 
ing the song of the birds, who seem to rejoice no less than myself in this season.' 



190 MEMOIR OF MARY JANE GRAHAM. 

that engaged her attention. It was her habit to have her table 
placed by her bed-side every night with her books and writing ma- 
terials, that she might commence her operations with the earliest 
dawn of light. Her beloved Bible was always under her pillow, the 
first thing in her hand in the morning, and the last at night. Sub- 
ordinate to this object of supreme interest, her diligence and perse- 
verance in study were most remarkable. When reminded that 
such intense application must be injurious to her health, she al- 
ways replied, that she considered these diversified sources of in- 
terest as amongst her greatest temporal blessings, in diverting her 
mind and attention from her bodily ailments. Her studies in the 
sick room were as varied as in the time of health. Sometimes the 
languages were taken up. At other times the more engrossing 
study of mathematics fixed her mind. This in its turn was ex- 
changed for chemistry or botany. Occasionally, when her mind 
was less equal to exertion, she would amuse herself with lighter 
employments. In the spring of her last year, she attempted to dry 
flowers which her parents procured for her, with the intention of 
forming an herbarium. But increasing indisposition frustrated this 
plan. Cutting out paper was also a favorite amusement, in which 
she early excelled. Her skilful use of the scissors had attracted in 
her young days the admiration and interest of her school-fellows. 
She was also a beautiful netter, and sent a number of purses to her 
Spanish correspondent, which, when sold at a Bazaar for his pri- 
vate benefit, produced upwards of three pounds. Thus in these va- 
rious employments did her mind maintain its ceaseless activity, 
both in intellectual indulgence, and in all the exercises of practical 
devotedness. No opportunity of usefulness appeared to be forgot- 
ten. When detained from the house of God by her protracted in- 
disposition, her time and interest were employed in explaining the 
Scriptures to the servant who was necessarily occupied in attend- 
ance upon her ; and in one instance it was hoped, as well as in a 
former case of much earlier date, that her simple and spiritual in- 
structions in the household were applied with divine unction and 
sovereign grace to the heart. 

As, however, her illness evidently approached its termination, 
her employments assumed a character more exclusively spiritual. 
She was occupied in girding up her loins, and trimming her lamp, 
in constant and delighted expectation of her Lord's immediate 
coming. 1 

And now it was, that the Christian graces which had been 
matured in the school of affliction, and under the influence of 
habitual communion with her God, displayed more manifestly their 
holiness, beauty, and consolation. This was (as an excellent cler- 
gyman, before adverted to, wrote to her father,) the fiery chariot, 
her vehicle to heaven, in which — the more it shook her mortal 
frame, until it left it all behind — the stronger and more full of 

1 Luke xii. 35. 36. 






MEMOIR OF MARY JANE GRAHAM. 191 

faith and triumph in Christ Jesus, she grew in her immortal 
spirit.' 

A detailed account of this last period of her mortal career will, 
it is presumed, be found generally interesting. In these solemn 
seasons is every feature more accurately defined ; while the color- 
ing is heightened by the impressive manifestation of the love and 
faithfulness of our God and Saviour. 

To the last, her habits of active employment were predominant. 
Her thoughts and time were much occupied in preparing her two 
small, but valuable works for publication ; and she continued to 
correct the proof sheets of them as they were sent to her till within 
a few days of her death. At first her mind was divided between 
the completion of her projected Series of Letters to a Governess ; 
and the work — On the Freeness of Divine Grace. But mature de- 
liberation decided her in favor of the latter, as being calculated for 
more extensive usefulness. She was indefatigable also in her cor- 
respondence with her friends, upon the principle of duty, in using 
every opportunity of setting forth the grand and inviting subject 
of the Gospel to her fellow-sinners. She continued to write even 
after she was unable to use her pen, and when having had just 
power to direct a pencil, her wrist had been bound up to give her a 
little strength. The following extracts from her letters, during this 
solemn season of daily expectancy, mark the character of her mind. 
We select an illustration at some length of the intense anxiety with 
which she regarded the spiritual interest of those that were dear to 
her, and of the earnest, awakening, and yet encouraging applica- 
tion of the privileges of the Gospel, to fix them to an entire devoted- 
ness to their eternal concerns. 

< Stoke Fleming, Sept. 28, 1830. 

' " Behold what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon 
us, that we should be called the children of God !'" This love 
should be enough for us. Come pain, sickness, poverty, affliction ; 
and still the Christian must rejoice, when he considers "what 
manner of love the#Father has bestowed on him." Reconciled to 
God ; redeemed by Christ Jesus ; sanctified, taught, and comforted 
by the Spirit ; what is there in the world that can rob him of his 
joy ? " Who shall separate him from the love of Christ?" 2 And 
as long as he has this love, how shall he not "rejoice with joy un- 
speakable, and full of glory ?" 3 

'My dear , I would stir up your heart to make this joy your 

joy. Oh that my God would give me words of power and persua- 
sion, and send them by his Spirit to your heart ! " Awake thou 
that sleepest ;" awake, awake. Time is passing — eternity is at 
hand. Thou must soon receive a crown of glory, " or cover thyself 
with thine own confusion as with a mantle." " Behold, noio is the 
accepted time. Seek the Lord now while he may be found, call 

i 1 John iii. 1. 2 Rom viii. 35. 3 1 Peter i. 8. 






192 MEMOIR OF MARY JANE GRAHAM. 

upon him now while he is near. Draw nigh unto God, and he will 
draw nigh unto you.'" Oh let me remind you, not in a spirit of re- 
proof, but of the most anxious, earnest affection, how long " the 
goodness of God has been leading you to repentance." 2 I believe 
it is now ten years, or nearly so, since we were confirmed together. 
Then you seemed resolved to make the Lord indeed your God ; to 
be no longer "conformed to this world, 5 ' but to '-come out from 
the world and be separate ;" to walk as u a stranger and pilgrim 
upon earth." Often since then have you appeared to be affected by 
the same feelings and desires. The time you spent with me here 
was marked by one blessed season, during which the word of God 
seemed to be your delight; prayer to God your chief comfort; and 
you expressed your entire renouncement of your own righteousness, 
and a simple trust in the atonement and righteousness of God your 
Saviour. Recall that precious lime to your mind, my beloved friend. 
You were then beginning to be happy. Inquire how it was, that, 
instead of '-going from strength to strength," from "glory to glory," 
"from faith to faith," you relapsed so soon into your old uncomforta- 
ble state of mind, and have since found so little comfort in religion. 
Remember that now, even now, Christ is willing to receive you, to 
give you strength and peace, grace and glory; that he is able to 
save to the uttermost, and more willing to give than you to ask, 
more ready to hear than you to pray. Consider what an awful 
thing it is, to go on, for many years, ' ; halting between two opinions ;" 
knowing your Lord's will and not doing it; visited by repeated 
convictions, yet those convictions producing no decided appearance 
of conversion. Consider all these things, and again I say unto you, 
Awake, awake ! May God of his infinite goodness arouse you to a 
sense of the importance of eternal things ! May he enable you to 
wait upon him in incessant and importunate prayer, till he has 
" blessed you," (as he is most willing to do,) " with all spiritual 
blessings in Jesus Christ !" 

' When you come to die, all the trifles which now vex and disquiet 
you, will seem less than a drop of a bucket, than the small dust of 
the balance. But the concerns of your soul, of what immense im- 
portance will they appear ! Why should they not now assume their 
real weight and value in your eyes 1 Death may either snatch you 
away suddenly, or be preceded by such violent illness, as to render 
you incapable of reflection. At such a time, how delightful will it 
be, to be able to lean upon Christ, as an old friend, not to seek him 

as a new one ! Oh, my dear , you must find time to die; 

why will you not find time to prepare for death ? You must shortly 
be in heaven or in hell ! must feel the happy consequence of being 
pardoned and accepted in Christ, or the dreadful consequence of 
remaining in a state of guilt and condemnation. " There is now no 
condemnation to those that are in Christ Jesus — who walk not 
after the flesh, but after the Spirit" — who " mind not the things of 

1 2 Cor. vi. 2. Isaiah lv. 6. James iv. 8. 2 Rom. ii. 4. 



MEMOIR OF MARY JANE GRAHAM. 193 

the flesh, but the things of the Spirit" — who " look not at the things 
which are seen and temporal, but at the things which are unseen 
and eternal" — who " live not to themselves, but to him who died for 
them, and rose again" — who have " their conversation, their treas- 
ure, their heart in Heaven." 1 

' Examine yourself, my beloved , whether you answer to 

this character. I can write no more now, but as long as I continue 
in the flesh, I hope I shall not cease from time to time to remind 
you of these things, to beseech you to give yourself to Christ. 

' My health continues much as when last wrote. I suffer 

much at night, as I can never lie down in bed, but am obliged to be 
propped upright in an easy chair. But they do not seem to consider 
me now in any immediate danger, and if no sudden attack takes 
place, they seem to expect that I shall live over the winter, or even 
some lime longer. All this is very uncertain ; but I hope that I am 
willing to wait, till my Saviour's time is come to call me home to 
himself. He doeth all things well ; and I may truly say, that he 
has " made all my bed in my sickness." " His comforts delight my 
soul;" and "in the night his song is with me, and my prayer to the 
God of my life is" — " Precious Saviour ! Tender Father ! Thou will 
cast out none that come to thee." ' 

The following letter, written in the immediate prospect of eternity, 
is valuable, as an exhibition of those views of the Gospel, which 
will alone stay the soul in perfect peace at that awful juncture. It 
is salvation, rich, free, full, finished — not a matter of uncertainty, 
dependent upon our own efforts or righteousness : but ordained, 
wrought out, and applied by God — not connected with faith, re- 
pentance, and love, as our previous fitness for the reception of it ; 
but including these graces as component parts of the inestimable 
gift, " afore prepared of God, that we should walk in them." 2 

< July 5, 1830. 
' I find, my beloved friend, that in death no past good works, no 
holy endeavors or desires can give the least comfort, except as evi- 
dences that we have been accepted for Christ's sake. My sole con- 
fidence is — that I have cast my poor guilty soul entirely, and with- 
out reserve, on the free mercy of God in Christ Jesus ; casting far 
from me every other hope. My good works — where are they ? I 
can remember none. They are too poor to think of without the 
profoundest humiliation. My desires and endeavors — Oh, my dear 
friend. I feel I should insult my holy God, by even naming them. 
They are, indeed, "coverings too narrow for any one to wrap them- 
selves in.'" 3 at the moment of entering into the presence of God. 
But my Saviour hath clothed me with his own perfect, righteous 
ness, and I wrap myself round in it with unspeakable feelings of 
security. I examine it on every side, and find it " perfect and en- 
tire, wanting nothing." I am not afraid in this my wedding gar- 

« Rom. viii. 1,5. 2 Cor. iv. 18; v. 15. Phil. iii. 20. Matt. vi. 19—21. 
2 Eph. ii. 10. 3 i sa i a h xxviii. 20. 

13 



194 MEMOIR OF MARY JANE GRAHAM. 

merit, to appear even before the King of kings. I think I hear my 
Saviour perpetually saying to me — " Not for thy sake do I this, be 
it known unto thee ; be ashamed and confounded for thine own 
ways." 1 A sinful worm. May Jehovah, my righteousness, my 
Tower and Strength, my Rock of defence, my Sun and my Shield, 
my complete Salvation — Oh may he be your God and Guide, for- 
ever and ever !' 

She was usually favored throughout the last months of her life 
with a remarkable sense of the divine presence. During times of 
extreme agony, ' Christ,' she said, ' is with me, " touched with the 
feeling of mine infirmities.'' ' 2 Her intercourse with God at this 
solemn season, while it was most intimate, was yet most hallowed. 
One evening, after a day of great bodily suffering, her cousin went 
into her chamber to take leave of her for the night. The room was 
darkened, and perfectly quiet ; and the state of her soul seemed to 
accord with the outer tranquillity. She said — ' I can scarcely speak 
to you. The sense I have of the presence of God is so powerful, 
that it almost overcomes me. He has often manifested himself to 
me ; but never in such a manner as this night. Indeed I feel ready 
to exclaim with Job — " I have heard of thee by the hearing of the 
ear; but now mine eye seeth thee.'" 3 She said very little more, 
being evidently too deeply impressed to converse ; ' but' — her cousin 
adds — ' I shall never forget that night.' 

Yet this sacredness offeeling was mingled with cheerful delight. 
It was truly Hooker's 'reverend gayety' 4 — ' Oh !' — said she one day 
to a friend — 'he gives me to speak to him "face to v face;" and 
sometimes, when 1 am so weak that I cannot utter words, his 
"Spirit helpeth my infirmities, and maketh intercession for me with 
groanings that cannot be uttered.'* 5 I love to feel my weakness, 
that I may experience " his strength made perfect in weakness." 6 
J delight to lie low before him? 

She loved to speak of the character of God. Her mind ap- 
peared to be much expanded in the contemplation of his unsearch- 
able nature and glorious perfections. 'How delightful 1 — she ob- 
served on one occasion — ' to think, that " God is light, and in Him 
is no darkness at all." 7 All his dispensations are light ; and though 
now they seem dark to us, hereafter all clouds will be dispelled.' 8 

Her desires for a clear and full knowledge of God were most 
intense. ' What' — she exclaimed one day, — ' are ten thousand 
worlds compared with one ray of the knowledge of God !' The ardor 
of her soul, unsatisfied with former manifestations, was continually 
stretched out for higher and deeper views of the divine glory. She 
was not afraid to offer that prayer, which seems scarcely befitting 
an archangel's lips, and which only the clear warrant of the Gos- 
pel preserves from the stamp of presumption. " I beseech thee ; 
show me thy glory." 9 Often did she entreat her minister to pray, 

1 Ezek. xxvi. 32. 2 Heb. iv. 15. 3 Job xiii. 5. 

* See Isaac Walton's Life. 5 Rom. viii. 26. 6 2 Cor. xii. 9. 

7 1 John i. 5. 8 See John xiii. 7. 1 Cor. xiii. 12. 9 Ex. xxxiii. 18. 



MEMOIR OF MARY JANE GRAHAM. 195 

that more might be revealed to her in this world. Nor was the pe- 
tition unheard. For, in reply to her dear mother's question a day 
or two before her death, her answer was — ' I could not feel happier/ 
The concentration of all her thoughts upon eternity was pecul- 
iarly striking and edifying to those around her. This main 
concern for the last few months of her life absorbed her entire in- 
terest. Nothing unconnected with it seemed to possess any claim 
upon her attention. The engrossing delights of intellectual study 
were relinquished forever. She had no enjoyment of any train of 
conversation, except that which directly led her mind and contem- 
plation heavenward. Communion with God was the one object of 
her desire. The word of God now occupied her whole attention. 
All other books — even her favorite authors — Romaine, Leighton, 
Milner, — seemed comparatively uninteresting. This heavenly ab- 
sorption of mind is finely depicted in the following short extract from 
one of her late letters to a friend. 

' Stoke Fleming, Oct. 1, 1830. 
' My dear , 

£ Knowing that my life hangs upon a thread, I dare not delay 
answering your letter : I pray God to enable me to speak the truth 
to you in love, and to dispose you not to think me ' your enemy, be- 
cause I tell you the truth.' But I must, as long as I continue to 
live, continue to urge you on the subject of religion. I speak not 
now willingly on any other subject ; I desire to have no more to do 
with earthly things, but to turn my whole joyful expectation to that 
blessed Saviour, whom I believe I shall soon see face to face, through 
that infinite, undeserved love and kindness of his, which has taught 
me to put my whole trust in him for salvation.' 

Connected with this feature, we may add, that she seemed so 
perfectly iveaned from the world as scarcely to have an earthly 
wish. Several times she took leave of her beloved relatives. In 
parting with her young cousin about three months before her death, 
she writes — ' I have not one earthly care or wish ; for even my 
cares for her are now all cast upon God, whose tender love will, I 
trust, lead her all her life long, as it has led me. She is going one 
way, and T shall soon depart in another way ; but I would wait 
patiently.' One day earnestly recommending a friend to "cast all 
her care upon God" — she gave the same expression of her mind — 
' I have no earthly cares — no earthly wish. But' — added she — ' I 
have spiritual cares — spiritual wants ; but I cast, even them all 
upon God.' Christ and eternity filled up the whole vacuum, and 
left nothing else to be desired. 

Resignation to the will of God was prominently marked during 
her illness, and was to her the source of much heavenly enjoyment. 
After meditating upon her Saviour's words — " My meat is to do the 
will of him that sent me," 1 — she observed, — ' Though I cannot 

1 John iv. 34. 



196 iMEMOIR OF MARY JANE GRAHAM. 

now do the will of my heavenly Father, I can suffer his will.' 
She looked forward with great calmness to a protracted life of 
suffering, when the medical attendant gave his judgment, that she 
might probably live for many years, but would never regain her 
health. As she was naturally of an energetic disposition, ardent in 
forming and executing her plans, this state of acquiescence to so 
inactive a life appeared manifestly to be the effect of divine grace. 
Once indeed she remarked with tears, that the prospect of lying on 
that bed for many years — of seeing her friends die around her, and 
those whom she loved remove away (alluding to the anticipated re- 
moval of the rector's family, which, however, she did not live to see) 
was a melancholy thought. But the passing cloud was soon dissi- 
pated, and she regained her usual cheerfulness. L 

The same warm temper of love to the LoroVs people that hah 
distinguished her general profession was ruling to the last. 
Even in her state of distressing weakness, she could not besatisfied 
without seeing some of them around her bed, that she might enjoy 
sensible communion with them. However weak they might be in 
faith, or low in condition, her heart was fervently drawn out in 
union with them. In referring to some refreshing intercourse with 
two eminent Christians — she observed — 'How good my gracious 
God is in thus sending his saints to commune with me upon those 
deep and precious things which now form my only consolation — my 
" joy and the rejoicing of my heart !" But' — added she, acknowledg- 
ing the supremacy of her heavenly Friend — ' after all, His presence 
is the only unfailing source of happiness. "With Him is the 
fountain of life ; in his light shall we see light."' 1 

Her views of sin were deep. Her friend observing her one 
morning to look unusually disturbed, ventured to express her con- 
cern ; when she remarked with a look that could not be forgotten — 
" It is sin that hath made me so. I have passed such a night I 
The deep solemnity of her manner precluded any further inquiry. 
Yet it was afterwards discovered, that it was not her own sin, but 
that of a dear friend that had so acutely pierced her. Of herself 
she observed, on another occasion — ' Ever since I have known my 
sins to be pardoned, they have cost me a thousand times more dis- 
tress than before. So awfully does the love of God, in pardoning, 
aggravate their guilt. 

The expressions of her deep humility, were peculiarly striking 
during her illness. All her attainments in the Christian life were 
never thought of, but as dross and dung. Her sense of unprofitable- 
ness kept her low in the dust, while the recollections of faith, ex- 
ercised in habitual application to the blood of her Redeemer, upheld 
her from despondency. When her minister ventured to express the 
advantage, which his own soul had derived from attendance upon 
her, she exclaimed with vehemence — ' How should such a dead 
dog 2 ' as I am be of any use V She sometimes seemed as if she 

* Psalm xxxvi, 9. 2 2 Sam. xvi. 9. 



MEMOIR OF MARY JANE GRAHAM. 197 

could scarcely conceive the possibility of being the Lord's instrument 
for the good of his people, while at the same time she continued to 
employ her every power of body and mind in their service. 

This self-abasi?ig apprehension was, however, combined with 
ardent gratitude to God as the author, and to her friends as the 
channel, of all her mercies. Every attention, every act of kind- 
ness from her parents and nurses, excited the most lively emotions 
of thankfulness. Speaking one day of the kindness of her nurse, 
her minister observed, — ' But oh ! how kind, how much kinder is 
Christ.' 'Yes' — she replied — 'but even all this kindness of the 
creature flows to me through his love, his kindness.' Thus did all 
her earthly comforts receive a double relish — thus also were her 
bitterest trials sweetened by being traced up to their divine source, 
and by flowing into her soul through the delightful channel of the 
mediation of her Saviour. 

The same food that had nourished her throughout her journey, 
continued to supply strength and vigor for the last efforts. Her 
Bible was more invaluable than ever to her. It was her constant 
practice before she went to rest, to repeat a text to her beloved 
mother, and to require one in return — assigning as a reason, that 
she might have them to think upon when she was gone. 1 She 
pursued the same habit of scriptural repetition with her affectionate 
cousin — the constant attendant upon the last months of her illness — 
adding to it the privilege of social prayer, except when attacks of 
illness prevented it. " Ask, and ye shall receive, that your joy may 
be full" 2 — was her favorite text to the last. 

As in health, so especially in her last sickness, she had great 
delight in communion with the Holy Spirit. She used to address 
her prayers much to Him, thought much of his Personality, and 
found the contemplation of it most refreshing to her soul. She 
would often speak with comfort of her experience of his distinct in- 
fluence upon her heart. 

Hymns were also a source of much refreshment to her soul. She 
used to repeat many to herself, especially during the night, and 
was thankful to the last to have them repeated to her. The last 
that her cousin read to her two days before her death, was one by 
Madame de Fleury, beginning — 

' Ye angels, who stand round the throne,' &c. 

and Gambold's beautiful hymn, 

' That I am thine, my Lord and God,' &c. 

was a great favorite. Cowper and Toplady also were a source of 
great delight to her. 

1 A few months before her death, she presented her little Bible to her mother, having 
obtained from her the assurance that she would read a chapter every day with prayer. 
In order to keep the promise in mind, if the precious treasure was at any time out of 
reach, she would playfully ask for it, ' You know, dearest mother, it is not mine now, but 
do you lend it to me while I am here.' 2 John xvi. 24 



198 MEMOIR OF MARY JANE GRAHAM. 

She expressed to her minister her strong desire to receive the 
sacrament, the mention of which had been refrained by her friends 
on account of her great weakness and sudden attacks of violent 
pain. She feared, however, that she had too long neglected it, and 
could not be satisfied without the refreshment of this holy ordi- 
nance. When speaking of it before the administration — she said 
— ' Oh ! I desire a full communion. I long to see as many as 
possible of the dear children of God to partake with me of this 
blessed ordinance.' She expected, as she was justly warranted to 
do, a rich blessing in the fulfilment of the last command of her 
dying Lord. Nor was she disappointed. Twice she received the 
sacred emblems from the hands of the venerable rector of the parish 
(since departed to his rest) ; and in the following affecting letter, 
written in pencil with great difficulty immediately after one of these 
occasions, she expressed to him her grateful acknowledgment of the 
consolations which he had instrumentally imparted to her soul. 

'My dear Sir, 

' I thank you very affectionately for the comfort I have received 
to-day through your means. When I saw you, I regretted that I 
could not tell you so myself. But it is the Lord, who hath both 
dulled your power of hearing, and weakened my power of speak- 
ing ; and he does it with both of us, to warn us gently, that these 
frail bodies must soon be quite taken to pieces, and lie till we are 
61 clothed upon" with " a body like unto His glorious body." It 
will give you pleasure to know, that, while you administered the 
bread and wine. I was enabled to cast my whole soul as a miserable 
sinner on the free mercies of Him, who died that w T e might live; 
and to rejoice in the thought of our meeting ere long, through the 
same free grace, at the marriage supper of the Lamb. 

' I wished to write these few lines to explain my own feelings to 
you ; for my dear mamma, in her anxious love, so much fears my 
seeing one, to whom she thinks I could not talk without exertion, 
that I fear it had never been properly explained to you, that 
though I feel unable to talk to you, I should be most happy to 
listen to you. 

'Accept, my dear sir, the Christian love and thanks of your 
truly and gratefully attached 

' Mary Graham.' 

The support which tvas vouchsafed to her in the midst of her 
intense bodily suffering, was such as might have been expected 
from the known and tried faithfulness of her God. Such was her 
enjoyment at some seasons of agony — that her l pains,' as she said 
on one occasion, " were sweeter than honey or the honeycomb." 
At one of her times of distress she remarked — c I am a child lying 
in the arms of Christ, and he treats me with more than a mother's 
tenderness.' Truly, indeed, was she ' : strengthened with all might. 



MEMOIR OF MARY JANE GRAHAM. 199 

according to the glorious power of God, unto all patience and long- 
suffering with joy fulness." 1 

It is almost needless to add as the concluding article of detail — 
that the sting of death ivas removed from her. 

'It is not death to me,' — she would say — 'Jesus hath tasted 
death for me, and hath drunk up all its bitterness.' The pros- 
pect of eternity was entirely divested of its terrors, and beamed 
with the bright anticipation of everlasting joy. We may take the 
following glowing view of her hopes, given for the conviction of 
one of her young friends. 

< Aug. 7, 1830. 
' I am going to mention a sentence in your letter which grieved 
me ; not as it regards myself, but as it leads me to fear, that you 
are not fully acquainted with those things, which can afford real 
and solid satisfaction on a near view of death. You speak of feel- 
ing satisfaction in death, as it affords a cessation from all pain. 
Dearest , did you remember at the time, that death is some- 
thing more than a cessation? — that it is an entrance into an eter- 
nal world, and that to those who " have washed their robes, and 
made them white in the blood of the Lamb," this is an entrance 
into eternal glory ? Bear with me. while I tell you from my own 
actual experience, what it is that ransomed sinners rejoice in at the 
approach of death : I have stood lately more than once on the very 
brink of eternity, and thought myself on the point, of taking the 
awful step. This makes heaven and earth, temporal and eternal 
things, appear in their strong and true point of contrast. And now 
that I am called back to the things of time for a little longer, if I 
can be of the least use to one of my fellow-sinners and sufferers 
here, I shall not regret the delay. It is not the cessation from pain, 
that can make Christians view the approach of death with satis- 
faction. For, believe me, they have not one pain too many. Not 
that they love pain, or are not glad to be freed from it, when the 
Lord pleases. But they know that every one of their sufferings is 
necessary and good for them, and that they come from the hand of 
a kind and tender Father. They are willing to bear as much 
pain as His love sees fit to inflict. Their pains are very sweet to 

them, as they come from Him. And, O dearest , could you 

know how he " strengthens them upon the bed of languishing, and 
how he makes all their bed in their sickness ;" 2 you would almost 
envy them even their pains, sweetened as they are by " the peace 
of God which passeth all understanding." Wherein do they re- 
joice ? In the hope of being " forever with the Lord !" of seeing 
him, "whom having not seen, they have loved ; in whom, though 
now they see him not, yet, believing, they rejoice with joy unspeak- 
able and full of glory." 3 Oh ! to behold this "King in his beauty." 

1 Colossians i. 11. 2 p sa ] m x ]i. 3. 3 1 p e t er i. 8. 



200 MEMOIR OF MARY JANE GRAHAM. 

and beholding — to be transformed into his glorious likeness ! l and 
then to cease from sin ! — this, this is the blessed cessation after 
which real Christians pant. To love their holy and reconciled 
God without any coldness or unfaithfulness; to offend him no more 
by one unholy, or rebellious, or selfish, or unbelieving thought ; to 
be pure as he is pure; to be "without spot, or wrinkle, or any such 
thing ;" and then to praise Him, to give him glory, and to cast our 
blood-bought crowns at his feet, through the counties ages of eter- 
nity ! Pray, my beloved ■, that in the hour of death you may 

be so filled with these causes of joy, that the mere escape from a 
few bodily pains may seem not worthy to be mentioned in the com- 
parison. The Bible tells you, that " except you be born again, 
you cannot see the kingdom of God," and that " if any man be in 
Christ Jesus, he is a new creature, old things have passed away, 
behold all things are become new. 1 '" 2 Examine, I beseech you, 
whether you have undergone that mighty change in all your 
views, tempers, and sentiments, which these expressions imply. If 
you die without being born again, and made a new creature in 
Christ Jesus, I shall never meet you in heaven ; for God, who can- 
not lie, hath said it. But pray, pray, oh pray to him, that he would 
thus convert your heart. He will hear and answer you. There is 
nothing else worth living for, but that, living or dying, you may be 
the Lord's. May this be your happy case !' 

She would sometimes speak of herself as a disembodied spirit : as 
if she realized in the fullest perception and assurance, her entrance 
into the world of blessedness. Her frequent reference to her depar- 
ture was in calm composure — like making preparation for a short 
journey, or a temporary absence. At other times it was in joyful 
hope. On one occasion — six months before her death — when she 
was thought to be dying, she unexpectedly revived, and, seeing her 
weeping friends around her, asked her dear mother why they were 
all in tears — adding with great animation — 'Do you think that I 
shall be with Jesus to-morrow V At another of these times, she ex- 
claimed — ' If the Lord should come and take me this night — but, 
oh ! — that is too much to hope for.' After a violent attack of cough- 
ing and spasm, a friend observed — ' I fear you suffer much.' ! Oh, 
no !' — she replied — ' I delight to feel the pins of the tabernacle taking 
out.' She burst into tears, when a physician who occasionally saw 
her, informed her, that the disease had not made the progress which 
he had supposed. This, however, was but a momentary feeling. 
For, upon her mother's remindingher — that she w T as only not quite 
so near home as she had expected, she replied — ' Oh, no ! this is 
wrong;' dried up her tears, and returned to her usual serenity and 
cheerfulness. Writing to one of her friends in reference to a be- 
loved saint, who had died in the triumph of the Gospel, she re- 
marked — ' Well ; I shall have one friend more to welcome me, 

i Isaiah xxxiii. 17. 1 John iii. 2. 2 John iii. 5. 2 Cor. v. 17. 



MEMOIR OF MARY JANE GRAHAM. 201 

when the Lord's lime shall come to " administer" to me also " an 
entrance into his everlasting kingdom." " Oh, blessed hope ! happy 
sinners ! saved by the blood of Jesus." Then she adds this affec- 
tionate exhortation, i Oh, my dear, my beloved friend, 1 charge you 
so to devote yourself to the Lord, that " the full assurance of hope" 
may cheer you now, and at the hour of death.' Upon receiving the 
intelligence of the sudden death of another Christian friend, she ex- 
claimed — ' I have heard the good news. She has rent the veil at 
once. Mine is taking down piece by piece. By and by I shall 
find a chink large enough to get out of; like a bird confined in a 
cage, and fluttering about to extricate itself in vain, till at last the 
door being open, the happy prisoner wings its flight towards hea- 
ven.' There might probably be an occasional mixture of infirmity 
in these intense desires for her home. It is indeed the dictate of 
Christian wisdom to prefer the gain of death. But it is equally the 
part of Christian obedience to embrace the service of life ; and the 
desire to depart, so far as it is not subjugated to the readiness to 
wait, partakes of the nature of self-will more than of holy affections. 
Generally, however, the ardency of her desires appeared to be sub- 
dued to a resignation to the Divine will. Thus in reference to her 
dissolution she writes to the aged minister, who, during her resi- 
dence in London, had been the means of communicating estab- 
lished peace to her soul — ' Blessed be my all-sufficient Saviour, that, 
accepted in Him, a few months more or less can make no great 
difference : " Neither life nor death can separate us from his love." n 
On one occasion, after expressing her earnest longing to depart, she 
checked herself and added — c But I am willing to sit here a hun- 
dred or a thousand years, if it be the toill of God. 1 

Her mind maintained its vigorous character in the midst of her 
protracted sufferings. The subjects of her conversation were usually 
of a highly interesting character. She would often speak with 
considerable clearness, combined with deep humility, of the more 
mysterious parts of revelation, such as the distinct Persons of the 
Holy Trinity ; the person and glory of Christ : the ministry of an- 
gels ; the state of separate spirits; the prospects of the Church of 
Christ. It is much to be regretted that no particular details of these 
conversations are preserved. The resurrection and future glory of 
the body were favorite subjects with her. She delighted to dwell 
upon 1 Cor. xv. ' What a wonderful change' — she observed on one 
occasion — ' takes place in nature in the acorn, which from so small 
and insignificant a seed afterwards expands and grows into a noble 
tree, the glory of the forest ! What a remarkable transformation 
also is that of the caterpillar, which, after having been changed 
into apparently dead matter, at the appointed time bursts its shell, 
and becomes a beautiful winged insect ! Had we not witnessed 
such changes, we should not have believed them possible. But 
having seen them in nature, shall we doubt the possibility of that 

i Rom. viii. 38, 39. 



202 MEMOIR OF MARY JANE GRAHAM. 

great change, which wil] take place at the resurrection day, when 
" this vile body shall be fashioned like unto the glorious body" of 
our Lord V 1 

For a short time, however, before her death, the enemy was per- 
mitted to harass her soul, and her lively apprehensions of the Gos- 
pel were occasionally obscured. At one of these times she said to 
her minister, ' Christ is not so precious to me as he deserves.' ' No,' 
— it was replied — ' he is so to none.' ' But' — she added — ' he " feeds 
me with food convenient for me," though I do not experience those 
spiritual enjoyments I so ardently long for.' Of a distressing season 
of temptation which happened about this time, her minister writes 
— 'I shall never forget the state of her mind. It seemed as if "a 
horror of great darkness had fallen upon her." 2 'Oh' — she said — 
'I cannot pray ; lean only utter words. It is mere wind.' She 
earnestly called upon me to strengthen her, by repeating the prom- 
ises of the Gospel. God at that time seemed to give me words. 
For when I scarcely knew what to say, words of effectual consola- 
tion were put into my mouth. Once in her impatience to hear the 
word, she exclaimed — ' Oh, say something to me from God — whether 
a word of comfort or reproof I think of that proverb — "The full 
soul loatheth the honeycomb ; but to the hungry soul every bitter 
thing- is sweet. V3 At these times of ' ; needful heaviness, through 
manifold temptations," while " walking in darkness, and having no 
light," she was, however, manifestly enabled to ' : trust in the name 
of the Lord, and to stay upon her God." 4 She could not enjoy the 
full manifestation of her God, which she had known in times past 
— ? Yet though' — she said — ; I cannot love God with that warmth 
which I so earnestly desire, I can act faith upon Him.' She com- 
plained much of deadness in prayer. Yet, her faith was in exer- 
cise, upholding her soul upon the sure word of promise, that her 
Lord would return to her in his own best time. She would at such 
seasons cheer her soul, by repeating suitable promises. " When the 
poor and needy seek for water, and there is none, and their tongue 
faileth them for thirst, I the Lord will hear them ; I the God of 
Jacob will not forsake them." 5 On this encouraging promise she 
rested in one of her seasons of distress and desertion. At another 
time she would say — " Rejoice not against me, O mine enemy : 
when I fall, I shall arise ; when I sit in darkness, the Lord shall be 
a light unto me." 6 And again — " The Lord my God shall en- 
lighten my darkness." 7 At these times of trial, the book of Canti- 
cles was much upon her mind. " By night I sought my Beloved, 
but I found him not." Then she added — ' but I sought not in vain.' 
She appeared to be at this time much enlivened in speaking of her 
Saviour as represented under the figure of the bridegroom. ' He 
loves us to such a degree, that he seeks after us ; he desires — he 
delights in us' — all which is to be seen in this wonderful portion of 

1 Phil, in, 21. 2 Genesis xv. 12. 3 Prc-v. xxvii. 7. 

4 1 Peter i. 6 ; with Isaiah 1. 10. 5 i sa iah xli. 17. 

6 Micah vii. 8. 7 Psalm xviii. 28. 






MEMOIR OF MARY JANE GRAHAM. 203 

Scripture. At another of these times she remarked, that often in 
the experience of the Lord's servants, a season. of darkness had pre- 
ceded some special manifestation of his love. Thus, as she observed. 
'Jacob wrestled a whole night ; and it was not until the daybreak 
that the angel revealed himself. 1 Thus for a while our Lord seemed 
to disregard the cry of the Canaanitish woman ; but the " trial of 
her faith was" eventually " found to praise, and honor, and glory.'' 2 
Thus also the disconsolate state of the disciples in their journey to 
Emmaus was the prelude and harbinger of a blessed display of their 
Master's light and love.' 3 

The dark clouds which " for a small moment" 4 had been per- 
mitted to spread themselves over her soul, were, however, shortly 
dispelled ; and " at evening time it was light." 5 Her extreme 
weakness indeed prevented her utterance ; but the few words that 
could be gathered from her, were descriptive of the peace and joy 
that reigned within.' 'My weakness,' she said, ' reposes on his 
strength — my folly on his wisdom.' When heY minister, in allusion 
to her late painful exercises, observed, ' God was " leading her by 
the right way to the city of habitation," ' she replied, ' Oh ! yes — 
but how different is the case of those, who " wander in the wilder- 
ness in a solitary way, and Jind no city to dwell in !" ' 6 In the last 
visit of this beloved attendant, she said to him, ' God is the rock of 
my salvation.' Then speaking of her being detained in her earthly 
tabernacle, she added, ' It is a comfort to think that " Christ has the 
keys of death and hell." 7 All is well. May God be with you 
during the remainder of your pilgrimage ! I can only lie as an in- 
fant in the hands of God.' 

Her bodily sufferings at the last period were most severe, arising 
from a complication of diseases. Her lungs, which had been sup- 
posed to be sound, were discovered after her death to have been 
fatally diseased. Her heart also was found to be enlarged. Her 
weakness and inability to recline for so many weeks, produced 
dropsy in her feet and legs. This was, however, from time to time 
relieved by incision. Her life terminated at last by a rapid mortifi- 
cation in one of her legs. The last day of her life was a day of 
intense agony. She was obliged to take doses of opium, which 
before she could not touch, so that the day and night, till she 
expired, were passed in a doze, or in the most violent suffering. A 
few words only were preserved at this affecting crisis. A day or two 
before her death, she cried, ' Come, Lord Jesus, come quickly ; 
"nevertheless not my will, but thine be done."' At another time, 
speaking of " the glory that shall be revealed," she exclaimed, 
"Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard ; neither have entered into the 
heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that 
love him." 8 Alluding to those who watched by her side, she said, 
' What a comfort that we are not watching alone ! " He that 

i Canticles iii. 1. Genesis xxxii. 24, 25. 2 Matthew, xv. 22—28, with 1 Peter i. 7. 
3 Luke xxiv. 17—34. 4 Isa. liv. 7. 5 Zech. xiv. 7. 

s Psalm cvii. 7, with 4. f Rev. i. 18. 8 1 Cor. ii. 9. 






204 MEMOIR OF MARY JANE GRAHAM. 

keepeth Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep.'" 1 Then again, 
shortly after, " I know whom I have believed." 2 Then again, in a 
moment of excruciating suffering, to her mother, ' Pray for me, that 
my patience may not fail me at the last.' The last words she was 
heard to utter before her death in a moment of deep agony, were, 
'I am come into deep waters ; O God my rock, " hold thou me up, 
and I shall be safe." ' The next morning, on Friday, December 10, 
1830, without a sigh or struggle, she entered into her eternal rest. 
Thus upheld by the good hope of the Gospel — thus having dis- 
played in lovely concord the diversified graces of the Christian pro- 
fession — thus having been abundantly refreshed by the consolations 
of Christ — this blessed sufferer — this ransomed sinner — this victori- 
ous believer fell asleep in the arms of her Saviour and her God. 
She heard, and gladly obeyed the call of her Lord, " ' Come up 
hither." Lay down the cross, and take the crown.' 

"To HIM THAT OVERCOMETH WILL I GRANT TO SIT WITH 
ME IN MY THRONE, EVEN AS I ALSO OVERCAME, AND AM SET 
DOWN WITH MY FATHER IN HIS THRONE." 3 

1 Psalm cxxi. 4. 2 2 Timothy i. 12. 3 R ev . iii. 21. 



CHAPTER VII. 



REMARKS. 

The writer, in bringing this interesting sketch to a close, ventures 
to crave further indulgence of his reader, in drawing out a few points 
of important and suitable application. 

I. The review of Miss Graham! s painful, though temporary, 
apostasy marks the great moment of being well-grounded in the 
elementary principles of the Gospel. A few hints may be here 
suggested to the inquiring and serious mind. First, the danger of 
a cavilling temper. Here lurks the first rising of the spirit of 
infidelity. Miss Graham's natural character was especially open to 
this temptation. Indeed, this is the fleshly indulgence of every 
intellectual mind undisciplined by the principles of the Gospel. It 
gratifies the love of distinction. It is the worship of self, that worst 
idol, that most subtle enemy of vital religion. " Vain man would, 
be wise, though man be born like a wild ass^s colt," 1 is the inspired 
and pointed illustration of the folly and littleness of this natural 
principle of the heart. Solid satisfaction and rest in the scriptural 
revelation will only be found in cultivating what Calvin wisely 
calls, 'a kind of learned ignorance,' 2 a well-instructed contentment 
to be ignorant of what God has forborne to declare. But to begin 
with the speculative instead of the practical truths of revelation, and 
to insist upon an explanation of its difficulties, as a pre-requisite to 
the acknowledgment of its authority, and personal application of 
its truths — this spirit resists faith, the appointed medium of divine 
light ; and thus gives to infidelity all its force, and leaves the heart 
the unconscious victim of its own delusions. The more we are 
disentangled from speculative inquiries, and occupied in the pursuit 
of scriptural truth, the more settled will be our conviction of the 
genuineness of the testimony, and our consequent enjoyment of its 
privileges. Let us not, therefore, trifle with temptation, by suffering 
the objections of a cavilling infidelity to " lodge within us." Let us 

\ Job xi. 12. 
2 Instit. Book iii. chap. xxi. § 2. In a subsequent, allusion to the subject, he justly 
denominates the eager appetite for hidden knowledge to be ' a species of madness,' c. 
xxiii. § 8. In the same spirit our admirable Hooker remarks — ' Dangerous it were 
for the feeble brain of man to wade far into the doings of the Most High; whom, although 
to know be life, and joy to make mention of his name; yet our soundest knowledge is, to 
know that we know him not as indeed he is, neither can know him ; and our safest elo- 
quence concerning him is our silence, when weconfess without confession, that his glory 
is inexplicable, his greatness above our capacity and reach. He is above and we upon 
earth, therefore it behooveth our words to be wary and few.' And again — ' That little 
(of the law of the Divine Government) which we darkly apprehend, we admire; the 
rest with religious ignorance we humbly and meekly adore.' Book i. § 2. 



206 MEMOIR OF MARY JANE GRAHAM. 

instantly bring them to the test of conscience, " to the law and to 
the testimony." 1 Thus let us "resist the devil, and he will flee 
from us." 2 

Secondly — we would inculcate an implicit faith in the divine 
record. And here we trace the source of all the sin and misery, 
that have deluged the world for nearly six thousand years. God's 
unchangeable declaration — " Thou shalt surely die" — was diluted 
to an uncertainty. 3 Thus when confidence in the word of God was 
weakened, Satan's lie easily prevailed. On the other hand, how 
fully did Miss Graham's unreserved reliance on the promise — il Ask, 
and it shall be given you" — recover her fine mind to its true posi- 
tion ; intrenched upon the supreme authority of Scripture ; prostrate 
in a sense of her ignorance ; honoring her God, and honored by 
him, in a trembling reverential submission to his word ! 4 How 
many cavilling questions arise in the defect of this spirit ! The 
difficulties which cannot be presently explained are considered 
reasonable grounds for unbelief. Man under the pretence of a desire 
to satisfy his doubts, rebels against what he does not understand, 
and begins to "reply against God." 5 But in fact we want not more 
light, but more humility. Herein consists the important difference 
between the caviller and the sincere inquirer. The one questions, 
speculates, and is dissatisfied. The other, in the consciousness of 
his " blindness," is willing to be " brought by a way that he knew 
not, and to be led in paths that he had not known." 6 He follows 
under the guidance of the Spirit of Truth, like his father Abraham 
under the direction of Providence, 7 step by step in implicit faith. 
He asks not — "How can these things be ? 3 But — " Thus saith the 
Lord" determines all his difficulties without gainsaying. And this 
practical acknowledgment of the supremacy of Scripture is the just 
demand of God. We must not, according to the principles of 
Neology, degrade the authority of his word, by subjecting it to trial 
at the bar of reason. We must not descend from our high vantage 
position of faith, to the lower ground of disputation. This inversion 
of the respective offices of reason and faith casts down God from his 
throne, and turns our light into darkness. Reason must indeed be 
exercised in examing the credentials of the revelation ; for to re- 
ceive an unauthenticated testimony is credulity, not faith; and 
scepticism is less culpable than unwarranted belief. But the creden- 
tials being once established, we are bound to receive its contents 
with the most implicit submission. Having once therefore admitted 
the divine claim of Scripture, we must yield to it our unreserved 
homage. The question is not — 'What thinkest thou?' — but— 
"Howreadest thou?" 9 This is the humility of faith — the child- 
like spirit of the Gospel — the evidence of the conversion of the heart 
to God. " Whosoever shall" thus " humble himself as a little child. 

1 Isa. viii. 20. 2 James iv. 7. 3 Gen. ii. 17 ; iii. 3. 

4 See chap. ii. and comp. Isaiah lxvi. 2. 5 Rom. ix. 20. 

6 Isaiah xlii. 16. 7 Heb. xi. 8. * John iii. 9. 

9 Luke x. 26. 



MEMOIR OF MARY JANE GRAHAM. 207 

the same is greatest in the kingdom of heaven." 1 The enriching 
light of heavenly teaching dispels many difficulties of the reasoning 
mind. " If the eye be single, the whole body shall be full of light." 2 
K Sitting with Mary at Jesus' feet," and " learning of our meek and 
lowly" teacher, we " shall find" — instead of uncertainty, confusion, 
and wretchedness — " rest unto our souls." 

Thirdly — we would impress the importance of a solid experi- 
ence of the power of the Gospel upon the heart. When the objec- 
tions against Christianity are fairly answered, the main hindrance 
to its reception yet remain. There is a strong connection between 
the speculative principle of infidelity, and the " evil heart of unbe- 
lief." 4 Unbelief is the disease — not of the understanding — but of 
the heart. It comprehends the " fulfilling of the desires of the flesh 
and of the mind. rs In the one case it is the love of sin resisting 
the holiness of the Gospel. In the other case it is (as we have just 
illustrated the points) the unsubdued pride of the heart rejecting 
the humility of the Gospel. A full and practical reception of the 
truth of God is therefore a powerful defence against the subtle and 
encroaching enemy. It was a defect in this point, that exposed 
Miss Graham to the baneful influence of her investigating mind. 
Her early principles of religion, though sincere, were not. inwrought 
in her soul in deep and permanent iniiuence. This unfixed charac- 
ter formed therefore an ineffective safeguard in the atmosphere of 
powerful temptation. Her neglect of prayer threw her off for a 
while from her dependence upon God. Her doubts thickened upon 
her. The strength of her soul was paralyzed. The enemy was at 
the door, and took advantage of her loss of inward perception to 
gain a temporary ascendency. However strong and satisfactory is 
the external evidence of the Gospel ; yet we want the apprehension 
and proof of its adaptation to our necessities, to endear and establish 
it to us in all the strength of sensible demonstration. When " the 
Gospel comes in power, and in the Holy Ghost," then does it come 
with much assurance. " He that believeth hath the witness in 
himself , ' s The transforming power of the Gospel into the divine 

1 Matt, xviii. 3, 4. 2 ibid. vi. 22 

3 Luke x. 39. Matt. xi. 29. We are tempted here to give one further quotation from 
Miss Graham's Manuscript. Speaking of Locke's Doctrines of Intermediate Principles, 
(i. e. principles established upon acknowledged axioms, as a step to further advance in 
knowledge,) she adds — 'To the confirmed Christian, the Bible is a repository of such 
! intermediate principles.' Once convinced that it is the word of God, its truths become 
the axiom, to which he refers in the establishment of every religious sentiment. They 
are his data, his well-established propositions, from which he admits of no appeal. He 
studies their meaning under a divine Teacher, who gives him " line upon line, and pre- 
cept upon precept." Under his sacred guidance he is enabled to "learn the rudiments 
of the doctrine of Christ, and to go on to perfection." Heb. vi. 1. 

' Happy is the unlettered Christian, who loves his Bible. He is in possession of a set 
of intermediate incontrovertible principles, for want of which, the wise and learned of 
this world are thrown back in their researches after truth. He shall " understand more 
than the ancients, because he keeps the testimonies of his God." Psalm cxix. 100. Nor 
must the learned Christian hope for an equal degree of felicity, unless he can bring all 
his human attainments into a blessed subservience to the knowledge that is in Christ 
Jesus." 

* Heb. iii. 12. 5 Eph. ii. 3. « Thess. i. 5. 1 John v. 10. 



208 MEMOIR OF MARY JANE GRAHAM. 

image is the most decisive evidence of its divine origin ; and this is 
an evidence which is always present with us ; connected with all 
our Christian habits of thought and practical life ; and accumulating 
in weight of testimony, in every successive instance of its efficacy 
throughout the world. The unbeliever therefore (for this is the 
real character of the merely nominal professor of the Bible) enters 
into conflict with the infidel at serious disadvantage. He may 
probably be inferior to his opponent in power of reasoning, and 
subtilty of argumentation. He may be unfurnished with a distri- 
butive view of the historical evidence of the Gospel, to repel the 
attacks that are made upon it ; and, being unable to strengthen his 
points by the demonstrable evidence of his own senses, he is in great 
danger of being shaken from the first principles of his faith. Or 
even supposing Jiirn to be on equal terms with his adversary — well 
furnished with an outward coat of armor; yet if his interior be not 
defended by " the whole armor of God, ' the poisoned arrows may 
find an entrance into his inmost soul. If he be ignorant of the 
spiritual blessings of the Gospel, he can have but a very imperfect 
conviction of the importance of its principles. They hang loosely 
about him. There is a want of energy in the grasp to " hold them 
fast ;" and not being " grounded and settled in the faith," never 
having had a real possession of " the hope of the Gospel," he cannot 
be secure against being " moved away from" the profession of it. 
His indecision is the first step to apostasy, and should it proceed to 
this ultimate point, it is only his just punishment for neglecting to 
walk closely and humbly with his God. It is therefore most 
difficult for him to keep the field at all points against the infidel 
upon the lower ground of external argument. For though we pro- 
test against the supposition of any vulnerable, or even debatable 
points on the side of Christianity ; yet the strength of the infidel 
side, as we have just hinted, bears upon his opponent with mighty 
influence connected with the appetites of his own heart. Thus 
man becomes not only a rebel against his God, but a traitor to him- 
self, and the murderer of his own happiness. Living, therefore, 
without prayer — we should assay to go to the intellectual conflict 
with armor that we have not proved, and therefore that would 
render us but uncertain protection. 1 Unexercised in the " faith" of 
the Gospel, we cast away the only " shield, whereby we could 
quench the fiery darts of the wicked one." 2 In proportion to the 
practical influence of the principles of the Gospel will be our intelli- 
gent conviction of their divine origin. A holy taste will enable us 
to receive the evidence of Christian truth. In every step of spiritual 
religion will the invisible realities of the Gospel be embodied and 
appropriated. The light to discover their external evidence will be 
thus increased by the removal of a counteracting internal bias ; and 
the believer, retreating into a heavenly atmosphere of communion 

i See 1 Sam. xvii. 39. 2 Eph. vi. 16. 



MEMOIR OF MARY JANE GRAHAM. 209 

with God, will be little disturbed by speculative doubts — "Thou art 
my hiding-place and my shield ; I hope in thy word" 1 

Lastly — let the mind be informed, expanded, strengthened in its 
positions by an intelligent acquaintance with some of our most val- 
uable treatises upon the evidences of Christianity — those most espe- 
cially, that connect the testimony of internal perception with exter- 
nal proof. 2 Thus covered at all points of intellectual or spiritual 
warfare "with the armor of righteousness on the right hand and 
on the left" 3 the simple-minded Christian will "be ready always to 
give an answer to every man that asketh him a reason of the hope 
that is in him, with meekness and fear.'' 4 

II. We would mark from this Memoir the high importance of 
a settled profession of the Gospel. We have already seen the rich 
and matured character of Miss Graham's doctrinal sentiments. 
Hers was not the religion of feeling, (though her feelings were pow- 
erfulty engaged,) but of solid, intelligent conviction. There was no 
excitement of impulse or imagination — no love of novelty — but a 
contentment in solid, scriptural, and practical views of Divine truth. 
Here was a groundwork for that steady consistency of profession, in 
which she was enabled to serve her God and Saviour with accept- 
ance and usefulness. It would be a painful investigation to trace 
the various causes and symptoms of that unsettled aspect of religion, 
which the present state of the church so largely exhibits. Too of- 
ten we find the profession to be of a superficial, and therefore of an 
uninjluential character. A susceptible temperament opens the 
door to self-delusion. The religion of the imagination is substituted 
for the religion of the heart. Sentimentalism captivates the mind 
by a sort of confused ideal sublimity. Unorganized excitement is 
mistaken for solid practical principle. External separation from the 
world is identified with the spiritual love of holiness. A habit of 
serious thought and partial reformation is commenced without any 
denned motive or object. Hence, when the temporary impulse has 
subsided, the baseless fabric resting upon it begins to shake. The 
religion of novelty and interest becomes irksome drudgety, without 
any spring of activity or privilege. The peace and joy, which had 
been anticipated as the immediate result of a certain train of feel- 
ings, ends in disappointment; and the "goodness" which had no 
connection with tenderness of heart, humility, and faith, " passes 
away as the morning cloud and the early dew." 5 The man who 
had been living upon notions, doctrines, and feelings — not upon re- 

1 Psalm cxix. 114. The following important advice given by a College Tutor to his 
young men is well worihy of serious attention. ' You should not forget, that the only 
sure preservative against infidelity is a substantial practical regard to our holy religion in 
all its principles and duties. And this is that armor of light, in which I wish both myself 
and you to be clothed, that we may " fight the good fight," and at length " receive that 
crown of glory that fadeth not away.'" — Memoir of Rev. Thomas Lloyd, late Tutor of 
King's College, p. 60. 

2 Such is the Bishop of Chester's Treatise — the Lectures of the Bishops of Calcutta 
and Ohio — Dr. O. Gregory's Letters — and a valuable Manual by Mr. Joseph John 
Gurney— ' Hints on the Portable Evidence of Christianity.' 

3 2 Corinthians vi. 7. 4 1 Peter hi. 15. 5 1 Hosea vi. 4. 

14 



210 MEMOIR OF MARY JANE GRAHAM. 

alities — sinks down into the character of a dry, heartless professor, 
with no genuine response to the vitality of godliness. 

Of others again we would speak with special tenderness, while 
we are constrained to consider them as wanderers from " the old 
path," where the church of God has hitherto found " rest," 1 refresh- 
ment, and establishment. But we cannot view without the deepest 
concern the attempt now made by true disciples of Christ (for such 
undoubtedly are many of those to whom we allude) to degrade the 
Son of God to a sinful participation and sympathy with our nature. 
We feel bound to protest against that ' great truth,' now for the first 
time opened to the church — that believers in this life of sin and im- 
perfection attain at least equal communion with their God, and par- 
ticipation of Divine influence with their heavenly Saviour.' Thus is 
the child of fallen Adam complete in himself, not in his Saviour. 
He needs no exercise of contrition — no application to the blood of 
the atonement for his daily deficiencies — no High Priest to ;i bear 
the iniquities of his holy things." The plenary baptism of the Spirit 
precludes the need of an atoning and interceding Saviour for pres- 
sent deficiencies and defilements, and perfects what is called an 
holiness in the flesh — an inherent righteousness, which blots out the 
character of sinners, and obscures the glory of the righteousness of 
the Redeemer, as the exclusive ground of justification before God. 8 

If we look for the external seal of these anti-scriptural doctrines> 
it will be found in the exhibition of certain tongues (dissimilar from 
the primitive manifestations, because unknown, and therefore, un- 
fruitful to the church 3 ) connected with impulses of an extraordinary 

1 Jeremiah vi. 16. 

2 'The great truth.' which Mr. Irving opens to us, we will state in his own words, — 
1 that the baptism of the Holy Ghost doth bring to every believer the presence of the 
Father, and the power of the Holy Ghost, according to that measure at least, in which 
Christ during the days of his flesh proposed the same.' The day of Pentecost, p. 39. 
This communication he immediately expounds to be the ' Divine nature, (alluding to 2 
Peter i. 4), which was intended from the beginning for man ; and which can mean noth- 
ing less in the Scriptural acceptation than perfect and essential holiness,' (Rph. iv. 24. 
1 John i. 5.) Indeed Mr. I.'s subsequent explanation includes spiritual grace as well as 
miraculous powers, p. 55. The reader may see the confirmation of this bold statement, 
and of the inferences legitimately deduced from it, in a remarkable c Narrative of Facts, 
by Robert Baxter.' (Pp. 102—116, 124— 126.)— a truly Christian acknowledgment of 
Divine mercy in recovery from delusion, and an exposition of the subtle causes connected 
with its origin. 

3 That the Primitive Tongues were known, and therefore fruitful, is proved from the 
history of the day of Pentecost (Acts ii. 3 — 11.), from the corresponding manifestation to 
Cornelius and his company (Acts xi. 18), and from St. Paul's statement of his own gift, 
evidently vouchsafed to facilitate his missionary work. (1 Cor. xiv. 15.) It will hardly 
be pretended that two different dispensations of tongues were vouchsafed. See the 
Apostle's decision upon the unfruitfulness of unknown tongues. (I Cor. xiv. 9 — 19.) 
If the interpolation ' unknown,' were removed from our version, the simple translation 
would be ' languages? We may remark one striking discrepancy between the apostolical 
and the modern manifestations of gifts. In the former case they were largely bestowed 
upon ministers, as the credentials of their commission. In the present time they are 
confined to members of the congregation, who thus virtually take the precedence of their 
ministers; inasmuch as an immediate revelation, being the present voice of God in and 
to the church, obviously commands higher authority than the more ordinary channels of 
Divine communication. Thus the inward revelation may take the place of the written 
word; females often occupy the dignity and responsibility of the sacred office ; and by 
an inversion of the scriptural rule and order (Mai. ii. 7.) ministers sit at the feet of their 



MEMOIR OF MARY JANE GRAHAM. 211 

character, both of which have been confessed by some of the most 
accredited subjects to have been the offspring of delusion. Does not 
all this almost seem to give a prophetic character to the Apostolic 
caution — " I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve 
through his subtlety, so your minds should be corrupted from the 
simplicity that is in Christ?" 1 That these doctrines come not from 
Christ is manifest from their obvious tendency to exalt self, and to 
stain the unspotted holiness of our Divine Saviour. That they are 
not the fruit of the unction of the Spirit, is equally clear from their 
results, in obscuring the light and authority of Scripture by some 
super-induced credentials, and thus confounding "the spirit of truth" 
in the world, and " the spirit of error" 2 in the new revelation. That 
as novelties they have no stability, we are encouraged to believe, 
from the gracious deliverance that has been manifested to some, 
who were fast bound under their seductive influence ; while those 
who are yet beguiled claim (though perhaps they may not thank 
us for putting forth the claim) our sympathy, forbearance, and 
prayer. 

What are wanted on all sides as the basis of an established pro- 
fession, are, first, brokenness and contrition of heart. Here, as we 
before observed, Miss Graham's deficiency exposed her to "the snare 
of the devil." Not being deeply impressed with the sense of her 
own vileness, she could not lie low enough before her God to receive 
his pure and heavenly light in her soul. He was therefore pleased 
to humble her thoroughly, till he had brought her to his feet ; that 
happiest, lowest, yet most exalted place for a redeemed sinner. 
What Job learnt in his prostrate frame of humiliation, made all the 
former attainments of this "perfect man" of God appear as nothing 
in his eyes. 3 And indeed there is much to be acquired in a self- 
abasing walk with God, and in a well-digested study of our hearts, 
before there can be any capacity for receiving a scriptural appre- 
hension of the doctrines, that are the matter of present controversy 
in the church. The decided views on these subjects, that are some- 
times received at an early, and perhaps uncertain, stage of the 
Christian profession, have been probably obtained under the influence 
of excitement, rather than from Divine teaching — from an implicit 

people; their " lips" — not the "priest's — keep knowledge, and the law is sought at" their 
" mouth." Thus God becomes "the. author" of " confusion" — not of " peace, as he is in 
all churches of the saints." (1 Cor. xiv. 33.) The writer would desire to cherish a tender, 
compassionate, and prayerful interest for those whom he is constrained to consider de- 
luded brethren. He would protest against the unholy trifling and bitterness with which 
they have been too often regarded. He readily acknowledges the practical influence of 
some of the main principles of the Gospel fixed in their minds at the commencement of 
their course; and still operating as a preservative from the dominant influence of their 
serious error. Yet he feels himself constrained, though with painful personal reluctance, 
to bear his testimony against unscriptural doctrines attested by hitherto unknown mani- 
festations, which, if they be of supernatural origin, may possibly, notwithstanding the 
apparent holiness which is often connected with them, bear the mark rather of the delu- 
sion than of the spiritual glory of the latter days. Mark xiii. 22, 23. Indeed this stamp 
of holiness may be the illustration of" the depths of Satan" — of those subtle devices, by 
which the " angel of light" is permitted to use the instrumentality of the Lord's people 
to convey his own deadly poison into the very bosom of the church. 

1 2 Cor. xi. 3. 2 i j h n iv. 16. 3 j 0D . x l. 4; xlii. 5, 6, with i. 8. 



212 MEMOIR OF MARY JANE GRAHAM. 

submission to some professed leader in the church, rather than from 
a simple exercised study of the sacred volume. In the spirit of 
brokenness of heart, this deluding power of excitement is subjugated 
to a chastened temper of tenderness and self-distrust. One want 
absorbs every faculty and desire of the soul. There is no tempta- 
tion to linger by the way in busy idleness amid the attractions of 
novelty. There is a careful guard against all entanglements of 
disputation that might, by diverting the mind from the main object 
of pursuit, palsy the spiritual affections, and pervert even the word 
of God to an occasion of erasing instead of fixing permanent im- 
pressions upon the heart. In this spirit of " simplicity and godly 
sincerity," the mind will gradually be enabled to receive scriptural 
statements, that before it had been unable to comprehend ; and will 
grasp, with an intelligent habit of faith, the fulness of Divine truth 
in all its happy and practical influence. 

Connected with this temper, spiritual apprehensions of Christ 
are of the utmost moment. This was the main principle of Miss 
Graham's steadiness of profession. She was accustomed, as we 
have before noticed, to " consider Christ.-'' 1 Hers were not transient 
glances at the glorious object of faith. Her religion was character- 
ized by a contemplative habit of connecting every part of the 
Christian system with Christ. And in this great subject, the most 
intellectual mind will find full employ. Unfathomable depths, after 
a long life of research, will yet remain to be explored. Here we 
may advance with deeper intensity of interest at every successive 
step, until the whole soul is " filled with all the fulness of God !"* 
A mind sustained and invigorated by these sublime contemplations, 
will lose its speculative taste ; will try " doubtful disputations" by 
their reference to this grand subject ; and, while enlarging to the 
utmost its compass of sacred truth, will be drawn off from uncertain 
doctrines to those that are evidently scriptural in their character, 
clear in their light, fruitful in privilege, holy in influence. " Not" 
being altogether " ignorant of Satan's devices, the Christian will 
readily trace to its proper source all diverging from this concentra- 
ting point, and will steadily guard against this baneful " corruption 
from the simplicity that is in Christ." And thus living by faith, he 
will live upon the vitality of the Gospel. The unfolding of Christ 
makes holiness at once practicable and precious. His principles, as 
they expand in knowledge, will become more practical in results ; 
while these results will reciprocally exercise his principles in a more 
lively and delightful glow of Divine light." 3 

For the cultivation of this spiritual contemplation, habits of 
retirement seem to be of importance. Leaving the time, measure, 
and rules to every man's judgment and conscience, and being fully 
aware that a difference of character generates in this particular a 
diversity in the operation of Divine grace — we cannot forbear incul- 
cating the general subject, as applicable to the several departments 

* See pp. 178, 179. 8 Ephes. iii. 18, 19. 3 i See 2 Peter i. 5—8. 



MEMOIR OF MARY JANE GRAHAM. 213 

of the church. Doubtless Miss Graham's retired habits gave much 
advantage to the exercise of her mind in heavenly contemplation. 
Probably much of the defective standard of attainment and privilege 
in the present day may be traced to the neglect of the habits now 
adverted to. Christians actively engaged in the service of God, 
may be ensnared by the very activity of their engagements. Those 
of a more quiet and collected temperament will connect their " times 
of refreshing from the presence of the Lord" — their most solid, 
stable, invigorating comfort — with the cultivation of this habit. 
Those who are enabled still to maintain the freshness of their early 
impressions, feel their need of this advantage, and mourn over the 
deprivation of it as a loss, for which no Christian society — however 
refined, elevated, or holy — can compensate. All who realize the 
difficulties of their daily path, and the weariness that belongs to 
incessant watchfulness and conflict, must feel, that, as the body 
cannot be sustained without sleep, so neither can the soul thrive 
without the active rest, so to speak, of retirement with God. A 
recollected habit of mind — shutting out the world, and calling home 
our thoughts to Christ and eternity — is indispensable to give life and 
spirituality to our religion, to bring the one object of faith into fixed 
contemplation, and the more enlivening prospects of eternity into 
more constant influence. 1 

Need we further suggest the incalculable importance of a deep 
and spiritual study of the word of Godwin connection with an 
established profession of the Gospel? Miss Graham's exclusive 
study of the word after the period of her recovery from infidelity 
{ l the Lord helping her to pray over every word she read' 2 ) must 
have been productive of a rich harvest to her soul. And indeed the 
general supremacy and entireness of this sacred study throughout 
life 3 was a main source of her mature apprehension of the doctrines 
of Christ. May not a partial study of Scripture explain the difficul- 
ty, why sincere Christians — praying for the promised " guidance of 
the Holy Spirit into all truth" 4 — should yet be left under the influ- 
ence of error? Do they heartily desire to be guided into the all 
truth — into practical as well as doctrinal — into humbling as well as 
the more exciting — truths? Is every part of the holy book, after 
the example of this devoted saint, honored as the word of God — 
carefully explored, and earnestly prayed over ? The promise sup- 
poses a diligent search of the whole field of Divine truth, and the 

1 ' The fault of many Christians in our day,' remarks a truly Christian observer,' ' is, 
that they live too much in public. We do not mean that they are dissipated, or particu- 
larly worldly in their habits and associations (though this is true, alas! of some), but 
that the work of the heart is postponed to the work of the head and the hands. Com- 
mittees, schools, charitable meetings, occupy the time, and fill the thoughts; while soli- 
tude, and especially a devotional solitude, is a thing almost wholly unknown. Half the 
errors of the present day may probably be traced to this source ; the facility with which 
Christians are carried away by every kind of doctrine ; the low standard of personal holi- 
ness ; the small amount of self-denying charity — for these, and such as these, brethren, 
there is no remedy but walking, like Enoch, very closely with God.' — Blunfs History 
of Ellsha. y 

2 See p. 97. 3 See pp. 180—182. I Jyhn xvi. 13. 



214 MEMOIR OF MARY JANE GRAHAM. 

neglect of any part of this field shuts us out from the sphere of the 
promise. Perhaps also a superficial study of "the word of Christ" 
— even when the whole surface is surveyed — is one of the most 
prominent causes of slight profession in the present day. It too 
often lodges only — not "dwells" with us; or it dwells with us — not 
in us ; or the " riches" of the treasure-house are too little regarded ; 
or the " wisdom that is from above" is but little exercised in the 
application of its contents to our several emergencies. 1 In some 
cases we mark a disproportionate attention to the externals of 
Scripture, which betrays a criminal indifference to its spiritual 
excellences. The holy simplicity of study is deteriorated. The 
mind is contented to feed upon husks, while the heavenly pleasures 
connected with the internal study of the sacred volume are un- 
touched and unknown. With others again the subjects revolve 
before the mind, but without research. The difference is inconceiva- 
ble between the act of reading, and the habit of meditation and 
search in the sacred volume. If the mind does not ponder often 
upon Scripture, no definite views will be obtained, no profitable 
instruction drawn out from it. 'Whereas a spiritually reflecting 
mind will extract rich meaning from its apparently difficult and 
barren portions. Being made the subject of thought, and formed 
into materials for prayer, Scripture knowledge becomes of a more 
heavenly character ; and meditation upon a single passage becomes 
more fruitful than the general reading of large portions of the sacred 
book. Perhaps there is no precept more intimately connected with 
establishment in the Gospel, than that which has been indirectly 
adverted to — " Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all 
wisdom." Let there be no part of us, where the word does not 
dwell. Let there be no part of the word, that does not dwell in us. 
Here is a new world of heavenly light, where the intellect is called 
forth into its full exercise. Here the soul is refreshed, and the 
heart is moulded under the influence of Divine wisdom ; and hence 
stability of our profession "in the simplicity of Christ." 

We would venture to add a few words upon the high responsibili- 
ty of cultivating " the spirit of a sound mind." The high estimate 
which the Apostle formed of this faculty may be seen in his placing 
it among the special gifts for the work of the ministry, 2 and in his 
prayers for his own son in the faith, 3 and for his beloved flock, that 
they might maintain it in constant exercise. His own example 
proves, that, instead of a sound judgment cooling the fervor of zeal 
(as it is sometimes supposed to do), it increases its effect by directing 
its movements. 1 Indeed a weakness in this point brings with it 
many hindrances to a settled consistency of profession. A luxu- 
riant imagination often obscures the well-regulated and implicit ex- 
ercise of faith. The truth is often clothed with adventitious at- 
tractions. It is not received simply as of God. There is a want 
of clear perception and determined grasp of the points presented to 

* Col. iii. 16. ? 2 Tim. i. 6, 7. 3 ib. ii. 7. * Phil. i. 9. 



MEMOIR OP MARY JANE GRAHAM. 215 

view. Again, an excited temperament without a staid judgment, 
opens many avenues of delusion. This is a matter of frequent no- 
tice in the cases of a defective religious education, or of late conver- 
sion ; or in a rapid transition from the cares of business or the war- 
fare of the camp, to the heated atmospheres which are now to be 
found in the church. The dazzling brightness of truth breaking 
in upon unfurnished minds, and often upon palpable darkness, over- 
powers the faculty of discrimination. The overturn of their former 
opinions has destroyed confidence in their own conclusions ; and 
together with their old prejudices, their intellectual stability is swept 
away. In another direction, also, lively affections and weak judg- 
ment give a wrong bias to the character. The Christian under an 
enlivening sense of the Saviour's love is ready to embrace any new 
view or doctrine, which he conceives calculated to honor and exalt 
him. Now a controlling power is as necessary for the healthful reg- 
ularity of the mind, as an invigorating principle. Opinionative de- 
cision is too often mistaken for spiritual principle. We want the 
influence of " the wisdom from above," not only to open to our minds 
expanded and attractive views of truth, but to enable us to affix to 
every part itsjust proportion — that no favorite doctrines be suffered 
to absorb our interest, or be raised to an undue importance — that 
essential points may have their preponderance over those of a mom 
doubtful character — that every step of our progress may present to 
us a more complete view of the harmony of the system. The mul- 
titude of excursions in the theological field, without and beyond the 
rule of revelation, are an evidence of that wandering of the mind 
from reality, and that triumph of imagination over truth, which de- 
notes a mind not in the full possession of its own powers. But let 
us in another track be careful that the sublime contemplation of 
the Gospel does not pamper a prurient curiosity; but rather that it 
gives a more settled character to our faith, and a wise and active 
direction to our practice. Let us watch also, under the exercise of 
this sound mind, that the fear of uncertain doctrines does not quench 
ths ardour of Scriptural investigation— that we continue our research 
" unto all the riches of the full assurance of understanding," 1 — that 
we go on as long as there is one point of the sacred book unexplor- 
ed — " forgetting the things that are behind, and reaching forth unto 
those things which are before." 2 

We cannot but remark how frequently a defect of soundness of 
mind is connected with unsteadiness of profession. And indeed in 
all cases, important talents of influence are wasted, and valuable 
spheres of usefulness are contracted, by this evil. What servant 
of God, therefore, conscious alike of his responsibility and weakness, 
will not present his frequent and earnest petition to the throne of 
grace — " Teach me good judgment and knowledge ?" 3 These in- 
estimable blessings are not the exclusive accomplishments of highly- 
gifted intellects. The believer — weak in natural intelligence, but 

1 Col. ii. 2. 2 Phil. iii. 13. 3 Psalm cxix. 66. 



216 MEMOIR OF MARY JANE GRAHAM. 

simple in dependence upon his God — will be not only guided, but 
established in the truth, even in the midst of abounding errors. 
He will be " taught not to believe every spirit, but to try the spirits, 
whether they be of God." n He will be led to " try the things that 
differ' ;2 in the church — not by the holiness of their several professors, 
(which — even if it were more perfectly apprehended — is not the 
decisive Test of Truth,) but by " the law and the testimony f 
being assured " that if they speak not according to this word" — 
though they be "angels of light"— "there is no light in them." 3 

III. The memoir before us may also point out the ground and 
blessedness of Scriptural enjoyment. Miss Graham's full recep- 
tion of the high principles of the Gospel made Christian devotedness 
a privilege, and Christian resignation thfe path of peace. Her clear 
views of sovereign grace ; her tender spirit of assured confidence ; 
and the bright beaming rays of her hope of glory, were sources of 
incessant energy and heavenly cheerfulness. The spiritual atmos- 
phere in which she lived, communicated life to her fainting spirit. 
Her heart received a new bent, and found a new home in the 
bosom of her God. The staid sobriety of her character, — the happi- 
ness she found in entire consecration of herself to God — her quiet 
composure of mind in the chamber of suffering — the overcoming 
strength and vigor, sustaining her soul in joyfulness — abundantly 
proved, that she had not embraced an empty cloud — that she had 
not caught a shadow under the delusion of enjoying God — but that 
God was indeed the rest and portion of her soul. 

But what, on the other hand, is the portion — what the prospect — 
of the man (whether destitute of the profession of the Gospel, or 
holding it in delusion,) who lives "without God in the world?" 4 
He must raise his "altar" — if he thinks of worship at all for the 
quieting of conscience — " To the unknown God." 5 He makes to 
himself a god after his own fancy, his own heart ; and it proves to 
be an infinite nothing. He cannot know his Creator ; 6 he therefore 
cannot enjoy him. For want of this knowledge and enjoyment, he 
dooms himself to everlasting misery. He will not rest in God. He 
cannot rest in anything short of God. If ever there was a remedy 
designed for man, bearing the character of divine love, it is the Gos- 
pel of Jesus, opening an uncreated source as alone sufficient to 
quench the thirst of immortal souls — " Ho ! every one that thirsteth, 
come ye to the waters, and he that hath no money ; come ye, buy 
and eat ; yea, come, buy wine and milk, without money and without 
price. Wherefore do ye spend money for that which is not bread? 
and your labor for that which satisfieth not? hearken diligently 
unto me, and eat ye that which is good, and let your soul delight 
itself in fatness. Incline your ear, and come unto me ; hear, and 
your soul shall live." 7 

1 I John iv. 1. 2 Phil. i. 10. Marg. 3 2 Cor. xi. 14. Isaiah viii. 20. 

* Ephesians ii. 12. 5 Acts xvii. 23. 

e See Miss Graham's striking and original thoughts on this subject in the latter part 
of the Test of Truth. 
^ Isaiah lv. 1—3. 



MEMOIR OF MARY JANE GRAHAM. 217 

Let us hear the breathings of the holy and seraphic Baxter, after 
this soul-satisfying portion. c In thee I expect my true felicity and 
content. To know thee, and lore thee, and delight in thee, must 
be my blessedness, or I must have none. The little tastes of this 
sweetness, which my thirsty soul hath had, do tell me that there is 
no other real joy. I feel that thou hast made my mind to know 
thee, my heart to love thee, my tongue to praise thee, and all that 
I am and have to serve thee. And even in the panting languish- 
ing desires and motions of my soul, I find (hat thou, and only thou 
art its resting-place; and though love do now but search, and pray, 
and cry, and weep, and is reaching upward, but cannot reach, the 
glorious light, the blessed knowledge, the perfect love, for which it 
longeth ; yet, by its eye, its aim, its motions, its moans, its groans, 
I know its meaning, where it would be, and I know its end. My 
displaced soul will never be well, till it come near to thee, till it 
know thee better, till it love thee more. Wert thou to be found in 
the most solitary desert, it would seek thee ; or in the uttermost 
parts of the earth, it would make after thee. Thy presence makes 
a crowd a church ; thy converse maketh a closet, or solitary wood 
or field, to be akin to the angelical choir. The creature were dead, 
if thou wertnot its life ; and ugly, if thou wert not its beauty ; and 
insignificant, if thou wert not its sense. The soul its deformed, 
which is without thine image ; and lifeless which liveth not in love 
to thee, if love be not its pulse, and prayer and praise is constant 
breath. The mind is unlearned, which readeth not thy name on 
all the world. He dreameth, who doth not live to thee. Oh ! let 
me have no other portion ! no reason, no love, no life, but what is 
devoted to thee, employed on thee, and for thee here, and shall be 
perfected in thee, the only perfect, final object for evermore. Upon 
the holy altar erected by thy Son, and by his hands and his medi- 
tation, I humbly devote and offer to thee this heart — Oh ! that I 
could say with greater feeling — this flaming, loving, longing 
heart! But the sacred fire which must kindle on my sacrifice, 
must come from thee. It will not else ascend unto thee. Let it 
consume this dross, so the nobler part may know its home. All 
that I can say to commend it to thine acceptance, is, that I hope it 
is washed in precious blood, and that there is something in it that 
is thine own. It still looketh toward thee, and groaneth to thee, 
and floweth after thee, and will be content with gold, and mirth, 
and honor, and such inferior fooleries no more. It lieth at thy 
door, and will be entertained, or perish. Though, alas ! it loves 
thee not as it would, I boldly say, it longs to love thee. It loves to 
love thee. It seeks, it craves no greater blessedness than perfect, 
endless, mutual love. It is vowed to thee, even to thee alone, and 
will never take up with shadows more ; but it is resolved to lie 
down in sorrow and despair, if t'hou wilt not be its rest and joy. It 
hateth itself for loving thee no more, accounting no want, deformity, 
shame, or pain, so great and grievous a calamity.' 1 

1 Reasons of the Christian religion, chap. xii. 



218 MEMOIR OF MARY JANE GRAHAM. 

Christians ! You, like this holy man of God, have made trial of 
this portion ; and you alone are competent to speak of it. You 
can bear testimony that the knowledge and enjoyment of God, 
coming to us through Christ — our Head, our All — is unspeakable 
bliss. It fills the most enlarged appetite of the soul. It fixes our 
hovering thoughts and restless anticipations. It perfects all our 
desires in holy delight and joy. It is the triumph of everlasting love 
over all the wretchedness, wants, and guilt of man. It gives su- 
preme enjoyment in life — hope in death — a portion for eternity. 

" Whom have I in heaven but thee ? and there is 

NONE UPON EARTH THAT I DESIRE BESIDE THEE. My FLESH 
AND MY HEART FAILETH ] BUT GOD IS THE STRENGTH OF MY 
HEART, AND MY PORTION FOREVER. 1 " 

» Psalm lxxiii. 25, 26. 



THE END. 



INDEX TO MEMOIR OF MISS M. J. GRAHAM. 



Active devotedness, Miss Graham's. 44 

—47, 178 

usefulness, early, importance of, 13 

Activity of mind, Miss Graham's, 41, 189 

—191 
Advent, second, practical view of, 89 — 91 
Advice to inquiring Christians, 88—92 
Affections, religion of, 120—123 
Affliction, letters in, 106—109 
Alfieri, referred to, 142, 145 
Apprehensions of Christ, importance of, 

174, 175, 212 
Assurance, Christian, importance of, 117 — 

119 
Astronomy, Christian, 138, 139 

B 

Babington on Education, referred to, 13 n. 

Bacon, Lord, quoted, 83 n. 

Barker's Parent's Monitor, referred to, 13 

Baxter, quoted, 20 n. 38 n. 77 n. 217 

Baxter's (Robert) Narrative, referred to, 
74 n. 

Believing, immediate duty of. 95 

Berriman's (Dr.) Sermons, referred to, 
76 n. 

Bickersteth's Christian Student, referred to, 
148 n. 

Botany, study of, 41, 190 

Bradford, referred to, 119 

Burnet's (Bp.) Life of Lord Rochester, re- 
ferred to, 18 n. 

Butler, (Bp.) referred to, 40 n. 

Byron's (Lord) poetry, 146 



Calcutta's (Bishop of) Lectures, 17 n. 

71 n. 
Calvin quoted, 205 

referred to, 97 

Canticles, Book of, referred to, 121, 178, 203 

Cavilling Temper, danger of, 205 

Cecil quoted, 145 

Chalmers, (Dr.) referred to, 149 

Chemistry, study of, 41, 190 

Chester, Bishop of, referred to, 71 n. 



Christ, parables of, 149 

spiritual apprehensions of, 174, 175, 



212 
Christian character, Miss Graham's, 1 68 — 

188 

experience. 93 

privilege, 119, 216 

steadfastness, 214 — 216 

wisdom, 35, 36 

Chubb's True Gospel, quoted, 18 n. 
Classical literature, Miss Graham's view of, 

38 
Col. iii. 16. '80 

Communion of Saints, 183 — 185 
Compassionate concern for the unconverted, 

169—175 
Concentration of mind, Miss Graham's, 41, 

42,167 
Conditions of salvation, 66 — 68 
Conflict, spiritual, 113—116, 202, 203 
Conformity to the world, 124 — 136 
Contrition of heart, importance of, 211, 212 
1 Cor. i. 23, 24. 56 n. 
1 Cor. xiii. 182. 
Cottage visiting, Miss Graham's, 45, 46 

D 

Daniel xi. 35. 81 

Day of Pentecost, (Rev. E. Irving's) quo- 
ted, 210 n 

Defective Education, 37, 215 

Depravity, human, 13, 51 

Desire for the Knowledge of God, 194 

Difficulties of Study, 30, 31 

Divine Influence, need of, 51 — 54, 85, 87 

Divine presence, sense of, 194 

Division, painful spirit of, 188 

Doddridge's Rise and Progress referred to, 
14 n. 

Expositor, 69 

Domestic Portraiture, recommended, 13 n. 

E 

Early activity, importance of, 13 

Early History of Miss Graham, 7—12, 

112, 113 
impressions, importance of, 7 — 10, 



12, 111 



220 



INDEX. 



Election, doctrine of, 63, 66, 97, 98 
Enthusiasm, description of, 123 n. 
Eternity, realizing apprehensions of, 193— 

196 

Evidences of Christianity, importance of 

acquaintance with them, 209 

of personal religion, use of, 95, 

124 

Exercise of the affections in religion, 120 — 
123 

Experience, Christian, 93 

of the Gospel on the Heart, im- 
portance of, 207, 208 

Extent of Miss Graham's studies, 38 — 42 

Extracts from Miss Graham's writings, 48 
—120 



Faith, exercise of, in Study, 30, 31 
Faith, explicit, nature of, 68 — 71 

implicit, importance of, 181, 206 

Faithfulness in reproof, 176 — 178 
Forbearing spirit, importance of, 187, 188 
Freeness of the Gospel, 55 — 57, 66, 100 
Divine Grace, extracts from 

Work on, 48—56, 63—55, 181 
Fundamental Doctrines, Miss Graham's 

view of, 48 — 66 



Gil Bias referred to, 39 

Governess, Letters to a, 150 — 163 

Graham, Miss, her birth, 7. Early impres- 
sions of religion, 7 — 11. Early life, 11, 
12. Relapse into infidelity, 14,"97 Re- 
covery from, 15, 16, 69. Residence in 
London, 22. View of study, 22 — 35. 
Attainments in Literature, 33 — 42. Act- 
ive devotedness, 44 — 47. Extracts from 
her writings, 48 — 165. Natural Charac- 
ter, 11, 166. Relative Character, 166. 
Intellectual Character, 169. Christian 
Character, 168—188. Illness, 189—203. 
Death, 204 

Gratitude of mind, 196 

Gregory's Letters referred to, 209 n. 

Gurney's Portable Evidence referred to, 
209 n. 

H 

Hall (Bp.) quoted, 92 n. 

Rev. R. referred to, 14 n. 
Handel, referred to, 141 
Haydn, referred to, 142 
Hebrews xi. 6. 69 

Helps to the Study of Prophecy, 85, 86 
Helplessness of man, 51 — 53 
Henry, the family of, referred to, 13 n. 

14 n. 
Hints on the Study of Prophecy, 86 — 92 
Hoare, (Mrs.) referred to, 13 n. 
Holy Spirit, Prayer to, 23, 37, 74, 78 
Hooker quoted, 205 n. 



Hooker, referred to, 194 

Humility of mind, 196 

Hurd (Bp.) quoted, 89 

Hurrion's Sermons referred to, 76 n. 



Infidelity, Miss G.'s relapse into, 14, 97 T 

205 
recovery from, 15, 



16,69 



209 



remarks on, 79, 80 
cause of, 19, 20 
guard against, 207- 



Intellectual Character of Miss G., 167, 168 
and Christian wisdom com- 



pared. 35, 36 
Intercessory Prayer, 183 — 185 
Invitations of the Gospel, 55, 56, 173 — 

175 
Irving's (Rev. E.) Day of Pentecost quoted, 

210 n. 
Isaiah xxxiv. 16. 83 n. 
Johnson, Dr., quoted, 65 n. 
John vii. 16, 17. 69. 



K 



Knowledge, importance of, 28, 34, 148 



Latin language, Miss G.'s remarks on, 38 
Lawfulness of study, 26 
Legality, settled form of. Ill n. 
Letters, Miss G.'s, to a Governess, 150 — 
163 

Piano Forte Play- 



er, 41, 139—142 
Liturgy referred to, 77 
Lloyd, Rev. T., Life of, quoted. 209 n. 
Locke, referred to, 40, 207 n. 
Love to the brethren, 183, 196 

Christ, 185—188 

Ordinances, 197, 198 

Prayer, 178, 179 

Souls, 167 



the Word, 180, 197 

Luke v. 28. 112. xi. 13. 17, 40, 118 
Lukewarmness described, 120 — 132 

M 

Maclaurin's Sermon referred to, 57 n. 
Martyn, Rev. H., 33 
Mason referred to, 110 
Mathematics, study of, 41, n. 190 
Mathematical manuscript, account of, 24 
Extracts from, 



19, 25—37, 45, 67 n. 79, 138, 207 
Mather's, Cotton, Life, referred to, 13 
Matthews at home, 131 
Matthews xxviii. 19. 75 
Melancthon. referred to, 180 
Millennium, remarks on, 81 — 83 



INDEX. 



221 



Milton, referred to, 12, 112, 139, 146 
Music, 41, 139—144 

rules for, 141 

sacred, 143 

Musicians of the Grove, 140 



N 



Natural character, Miss G.'s, 11, 12, 166 
Newton, Sir I., 89 n. 
Novels, religious, 147 — 150 



O 



Ordinances, love of, 182 
Original sin explained, 48 — 50 
Owen (Dr.) quoted, 72, 182 



Paley, referred to, 43, 188 
Petrarch, 110, 145 
Poetry, 144—146 
Prayer, love of, 479. 480 

— to Holy Spirit. See Holy Spirit. 

Privilege, Christian, enjoyment of. 119, 124, 

216 
Prophecy, importance of the study of, 83 

—88 
hints for the practical study of, 

89—92 
Proverbs, ii. 1 — 6, referred to, 181* 
Psalms, Book of, referred to, 121 



R 



Relative obligations, force of, 129, 135, 167, 

168, 173 
Religious excitement, 215 
Remedy against self-dependence in study, 

38, 42 
Resignation to the will of God, 173 
Responsibility of study, 27 — 29 
Resurrection of the body, thoughts on, 201 
Retirement, importance of, 214 
Revelation, xvii. 14. 82 
Reverence for the word of God, 181, 182 
Romans xv. 3. 167 n. 
Rousseau, referred to, 18 n. 



Scott's Force of Truth referred to, 18 n. 
Scriptures, love of, 179 — 181 

study of, 97, 179. 213 

Scriptural rules, 132, 136, 179, 213 
Self-complacency in study, danger of, 45 
Self-dependence in study, safeguard against, 

Self-examination, importance of, 96 
Self-indulgence in study, danger of, 31 
Self-knowledge, the importance of, 110 
Self-righteousness, 54 
Settled profession, importance of, 209 
Sound mind, spirit of, 214 
Spanish refugees, 41 — 43, 190 
Stewart, Dugald, referred to, 40 
Study, Christian, importance of, 27 

lawfulness of, 2 ! 5 

prayer before, 22, 38 

temptations of 31 — 33 

Sunday School instruction, 44, 179 
instruction of young children, 



101, 



102 

Support under suffering, 190 



Tasso referred to, 110 
Taylor (Bp.) referred to, 102, 139, 142 
Temper requisite for the Study of Prophecy, 
86 

Scripture, 181 

Tenderness, Miss G.'s character of, 176 
Test of Truth, 10, 15, 22, 42, 170, 216 
Theological discussions, Miss G.'s, 63 — 83 
Tongues, unknown, remarks on, 210 

V 

Vain-glorious spirit in study, 34 
Vicar of Wakefield, referred to, 39 
Volney's Ruins of Empires referred to, 42 

W 

Waterland's Sermons referred to, 76 
Wholeness of study of Scripture, 97, 181, 

214 
Wordsworth's poetry, 146 
World, weanedness from, 195 



THE END. 






m 






l ♦ft 



k 



THE TEST OF TRUTH 



BY 



J 
MARY JANE GRAHAM, 

LATE OF STOKE FLEMING, DEVON. 



[, AND IT SHALL BE GIVEN YOU. 



THE TEST OE TBUTH. 



PART I. 

ASK, AND IT SHALL BE GIVEN YOU. Luke XL 9. 

I am not ignorant of the disadvantage under which I labor, in 
addressing a class of readers who lightly esteem the Bible, with a 
quotation from the Bible. Such a commencement carries with it 
an air both of unfairness and inconsistency. It looks like an 
attempt to assume the point in dispute, and to argue from a source 
which we have not yet proved to be genuine. Let me hasten to 
dispel a suspicion so unfavorable to a candid reception of the obser- 
vations I am about to oifer. Rational and philosophizing sceptics, 
in presenting you with the above text of Scripture, I do not ask you 
to receive it as the word of God ; but only to bestow upon it a little 
of that patient and courteous attention, which the word of one of 
your fellew-men might claim from you. You cannot, in justice to 
your own professions of candor and equity, refuse compliance with 
so reasonable a demand. 

Without further apology, I submit one of the sayings of Jesus 
Christ to your attentive consideration. I am far from any inten- 
tion of pressing upon you its divine authority, or insisting on a 
blind obedience. Upon its own merits let it stand or fail. 

My object in thus briefly addressing you, is not to convince, but 
to invite you to a method by which you may convince yourselves. 
With this design [ shall take nothing for granted but what you 
will be readily disposed to concede. I will suppose that it is yet a 
matter of doubt whether the Scriptures are the genuine and lively 
oracles of God. or the sordid, lying invention of man. Take, if you 
please, a still further advantage. Assume that appearances are 
strongly against their divine origin : that the external evidences 
of Christianity are insufficient — her internal proof unsatisfactory — 
her professors few and inconsistent — her opponents respectable both 
in numbers and talents — the objections against her weighty and 
plausible — and all the arguments in her favor weak and inconclu- 
sive. I will further suppose that you are in earnest, when you 
assert that truth alone is the object of your search, and that you are 
ready to embrace her wherever you find her. I say, I will suppose 



226 THE TEST OF TRUTH. 

that you are in earnest. And truly I should offer an affront to 
your understandings, both as men and philosophers, were 1 to 
imagine you capable of viewing the subject in any other than a 
a serious light. 

If then you refuse to believe the Bible, it must be oecause you 
can find no means of proving it to be true. It cannot be because 
you love to continue in darkness, in perplexity, in unbelief. Let 
me put the case that some infallible criterion were proposed to you ; 
— some method of ascertaining by your own personal experience, 
the truth or falsehood of the Bible. May it not be inferred, that 
you would be eager to put it fairly to the test, and willing to abide 
by the result of your experiment? 

Such a criterion I am about to propose to you. It is so simple, 
that a child may comprehend ; so just, that a philosopher may ap- 
prove ; and so forcible, that none who have fairly tried, have ever 
been found able to withstand it. Such is the saying of Jesus Christ 
to which I now invite your attention — " Ask, and it shall be given 
you." 

Who Jesus Christ was, or what degree of deference is due to his 
word, it suits not my present purpose to inquire. I shall content 
myself with proving to you, that the saying now under considera- 
tion contains nothing in itself absurd or improbable. And having 
established this necessary point, I shall propose it to you as the 
touchstone of truth. I am fully aware of the proud self-sufficiency, 
with which unconverted men expect the mightiest truths to be 
brought down to the level of human reason. It shall therefore be 
my care, in the few simple propositions which I shall lay before 
you, to introduce nothing which can too severely tax your belief or 
your understanding. 

You are, I hope, willing to allow, that this universal frame is the 
work of some Divine, uncreated intelligence. You are too suscep- 
tible in heart and intellect, to be able to look round on the w T onders 
of creation, and not perceive in them all, manifest tokens of creat- 
ing power. But I am prepared to make every allowance for the 
strength of your incredulity. If, therefore, I appear to you to have 
asked too much, I will yet be more moderate in my demands. It is 
enough for my argument, if you admit that the existence of God, 
if not certain, is at least probable, or if not probable, that it is at. 
least possible. The various instances of deep design and exquisite 
contrivance w T hich force themselves upon your notice on every side, 
will not suffer you to deny the possible existence of some great 
Designer and Contriver. Whether you look upwards, at the 
innumerable starry host; or downwards, upon the insect that 
crawls beneath your feet; around you, on the beauteous furniture 
of the universe ; or within, upon the little world of thought and 
feeling that is stirring in your own bosom : — whichever way you 
look, whichever way you turn, you are met by something which 
compels you to acknowledge that the existence of God is no absurd 
or improbable hypothesis. Even that man who wrote " atheist" 



THE TEST OF TRUTH. 227 

under his name, was not, I am persuaded, an atheist when alone. 
There is no such thing as an atheist in solitude. You may boast 
that you are one in the convivial circle ; but you cannot support the 
character in your closet. There God will find you out. There the 
unwelcome reality of his presence will confound you. And not 
only so — but even in the height of social mirth, when surrounded 
by friends who sympathize and admire, you dare to make merry 
with the name and being of God : — even then, a secret horror, a 
sad foreboding conviction will sometimes come over you, and you 
will feel in every pore that GOD IS, and that vain are your 
feeble efforts to annihilate Him. I appeal to the stoutest heart 
among you, whether I speak truth. You cannot quite divest your- 
self of the conviction — you know you cannot. God has not left 
himself without witness, even in your heart. There is a point at 
which incredulity itself must make a stand ; and that point is the 
existence of God. 

I take it then for granted, that some of you will admit the exist- 
ence of Almighty God to be undeniably certain : many will own 
that it is probable : and all will allow that it is possible. 

Neither will you be so hardy as to deny, that, if there be a God, 
the highest happiness of his creatures must consist in knowing, and 
their highest duty in loving him. The Maker of every grand and 
lovely object must be infinitely grand and lovely : and if to know 
his works be good, to know Himself must be better than all. But 
if he be our Maker, if in him we live, and move, and have our 
being, then surely it must be our most urgent concern to know One 
with whom we have so much to do. If he be our Maker, do we 
owe him no service? If our Benefactor, do we owe him no thanks? 
If he be our Father, must we not love him ? If our Master, must 
we not fear him ? But how can we render service or thanks, love 
or praise, to an unknown Being ? We may indeed view him with 
a servile dread ; for nature itself teaches us to shrink from that we 
do not know. But we cannot serve God, till we know what he 
requires of us. We cannot thank him, till we know what he has 
done for us. We cannot love God, till we are acquainted with his 
thoughts and purposes towards us. Love, such as deserves the 
name, implies knowledge — communion — tried excellence — unlim- 
ited confidence. Those dark, shadowy, undefined notions which the 
Deist entertains of God, may cause a slight feeling of admiration, 
a transient glow of thankfulness to pass across his bosom ; but they 
will produce no real, substantial, enduring sentiment : — they will 
never make him love. To know God must then be our highest 
happiness, whether we consider his intrinsic excellence, or the rela- 
tion in which we stand to him as his creatures. And as the Maker 
cannot but be infinitely greater than any of the things he has made ; 
so the knowledge of God cannot but be infinitely more desirable than 
the knowledge of his works. 

It is a self-evident proposition, that what is worth having, is worth 
seeking. If then the knowledge of God be so well worth having, 



228 



THE TEST OF TRUTH. 



it must be proportionably worth seeking. No pains can possibly be 
too great to bestow on the attainment of such an object. I am not 
now speaking of the existence of God as undeniably established. I 
affirm, that the bare possibility that a being so glorious and excel- 
lent exists, makes it worth our while to leave the contemplation of 
every other glory and every other excellence, till we have either dis- 
covered this great original of all that is excellent and glorious, or can 
give satisfactory proof that no such original exists. The bare pos- 
sibility that there is a Being who stands related to us as our Creator 
and Father, renders it an act of base ingratitude, not to inquire after 
him, that we may fulfil the duties which those relations imply. 

Admit then, that God is worth knowing; and you must also 
admit the inevitable consequence, that God is worth seeking. In- 
deed it would seem superfluous to dwell on either of these proposi- 
tions, were it not that in our own little corner of God's universe, 
filled with a set of God's creatures, who style themselves reasona- 
ble beings, there are yet many who can find time to amass stores of 
human learning, time to perfect themselves in all the wisdom of this 
world, but no time or inclination to ask, " where is God, my Maker, 
who teacheth me more than the beasts of the earth, and maketh me 
wiser than the fowls of heaven?" However, let your actions be 
what they may ; I do suppose your understandings will hardly 
refuse their assent to the proposition, that the knowledge of God, if 
we could attain to it, would amply repay us for any labor we might 
endure in the attainment. 

Neither will you be disposed to contradict my next assertion, that 
whoever this glorious Being may be, the world is in a state of great 
ignorance and confusion respecting his nature and attributes, and 
the kind of duty and worship that is due to him from his creatures. 
A single glance at the various and absurd religions of mankind, 
may suffice to convince us, that God is not universally, or even 
generally, known upon the earth. Out of so many different gods, 
only one can be the true God. Out of so many different religions, 
only one can be the right religion. Perhaps you will say, all are 
equally wrong. Such an opinion does but add to the force of my 
proposition. Whoever God is, it must be alike obvious both to 
Christians and infidels, that the world in general knows very little 
about him. 

If you agree with me in what I have said: — if you admit that 
God is worth knowing, and that he is worth seeking, in an infi- 
nitely higher degree than any thing else is worth knowing or seek- 
ing ; and if you also perceive that mankind are in a state of igno- 
rance concerning him : — you will deeply feel the importance of the 
inquiry I am about to propose. How, amidst this variety of con- 
flicting opinions, shall I find out that which is right ? Or, if all are 
in error, where shall the truth be sought? What possible means 
can I take to become acquainted with God my Maker ? 

Does reason, does common sense, suggest no answer to this inqui- 
ry ? Do they not say, — " Apply for information to the only Being- 



THE TEST OF TRUTH. 229 

who is likely to give it you ? In plain terms : none can know- 
God so well as he knows himself. Therefore ask God." 

This method appears so obvious, so direct and natural, that it is 
difficult to conceive how any one can object to it, or hope to propose 
a better. Yet it is this very method which infidels will neither 
themselves seriously try, nor permit others to try, if they can help 
it. Let a man address himself in good earnest to prayer, and they 
will immediately set him down for a person of a weak and shallow 
understanding, a mere superstitious driveller. Or, if he be known 
to possess a powerful and commanding intellect, then they will 
lament with a sigh of benevolent regret, that so great a man should 
be deformed by so great a weakness. But if the praying person 
should carry his extravagance to such a height as to persuade 
himself that God hears him when he prays, and gives him what he 
asks for ; — by what name will they designate such infatuation ? 
They waver between the terms of hypocrite and madman : or, 
perhaps, suspect that a combination of these characters was need- 
ful to conduct a man to such a climax of absurdity. And all this 
contempt is excited, because a reasonable being, actuated by a rea- 
sonable desire to know the Author of his being, and by a reasonable 
persuasion that none can teach him what he wants to know so well 
as that Author, avoids every indirect and circuitous method of 
obtaining the desired information, and applies at once to God for 
the knowledge of God. 

Why should it seem so unaccountable to pray to God? Why so 
absurd to expect an answer to our prayers ? I could let you into 
the secret cause of that mingled pity and disgust with which you 
regard those who pray. But for the present I forbear. My object 
is to prove to you that their conduct is not quite so absurd as you 
imagine. To apply to God himself for the knowledge of God, is 
a mode of proceeding perfectly just and rational. It is so, whether 
you regard the existence of God as certain, or merely admit it as 
possible. 

For, in the first place, if there be a God, he must be in full pos- 
session of the information you require. He cannot but know Him- 
self. He cannot but know himself better than any other being 
knows Him. He, therefore, who desires to know any thing about 
God, and would apply to one most thoroughly informed on the sub- 
ject, must apply to God. This is inquiring at the fountain-head. 
All other plans, in comparison with this, appear indirect, far-fetched 
and unnatural. 

2. It is. also, reasonable to suppose, that if there be a God, He 
must be capable of hearing all that his creatures say to him. 
Whether they address him with their lips, or only in the secret of 
their hearts, they cannot be addressing an unconscious God. A 
God, and yet unconscious ! The thing is impossible. "He who 
made the ear, shall he not hear ?" He who formed the heart, shall 
he not know what is passing there? If we speak to God, the prob- 
ability of his hearing us is the same with the probability of his 



230 THE TEST OF TRUTH. 

existing at all. On the other hand, the argument if you can find 
one, which shall prove God to be unconscious of any thing that we 
say or think, will at once set aside the being of God altogether. 
There is no God: — or, God knows all that is in our hearts. One 
of these two propositions must be true. However partial and 
unworthy notions you may entertain of the Supreme Being, you 
cannot, in this enlightened age, imagine him to be ignorant of what 
is going on in a world of his own making. Should you, at any 
time, feel disposed to address him, you will not surely be deterred by 
the fear that he may be on a journey, and so out of the reach of 
your voice ; or asleep, and therefore unable to listen ; or perplexed 
and encumbered with such a mulliplicity of affairs, that he will be 
too busy to attend. Despised Christianity has taught men to dis- 
card these idle notions. If, then, there be any absurdity in praying 
to God, it certainly cannot arise out of the circumstance of God's 
being incapable of hearing. 

3. It is sufficiently evident, that if God be able to hear our peti- 
tions, he is also able to grant them, if he please. He who made 
our understandings at first, must be capable of illuminating them. 
He who gave us such capacities for knowing him, must be able to 
satisfy and fill up those capacities. We have already admitted 
that he must be fully possessed of the information we require. 
What should hinder him from conveying that information to us, ii 
such should be his will ? Do you say that our minds are incapable 
of being informed on so difficult a subject? You have no means 
of proving such an assertion. If you had, it would be no way to 
the purpose, unless you could also prove that God cannot render 
them capable. Does it comport even with your own ideas of the 
Deity, to affirm that he has expended the whole of his creative 
power upon the mind of man, so that he really can do nothing more 
to improve or enlarge it? As rational creatures, we must be capa- 
ble of knowing our Creator ; and God, as our Creator, must be 
able to convey to our minds the knowledge of Himself. 

4. Again, we have every reason to believe, that as God is able, 
so he is willing to grant our petitions. You will,* perhaps, tell me 
that it is presumptuous to imagine that a Being of such transcend- 
ent greatness should stoop from his high majesty to concern himself 
with the paltry concerns of men. Now, I conceive, that since it 
was not inconsistent with the dignity of God to make us at first, 
we are warranted to conclude, that it will by no means derogate 
from his greatness to care about us when we are made. It argues 
a kind of puerile inconsistency, rather than Godlike majesty, to 
make man, and then throw him aside, without further thought of 
what happens to him. But this objection takes its rise in a nar- 
row understanding. Because you cannot attend to a great many 
things at a time, you should not think God cannot. Do not let 
comparisons of this nature mislead you. Be assured that God's 
power of attention cannot, with any propriety, be measured by 
yours. His mind can neither be oppressed by a variety, nor en- 



THE TEST OP TRUTH. 231 

cumbered by a multiplicity of objects. Witness this universe which 
he has created. Nor is his greatness of so perishable a nature, that 
it can receive an injury by stooping to the lowest or meanest object. 
The little dignitaries of the earth may fear to attend to little things 
lest they should appear incapable of what is great, or should really 
neglect it ; for they cannot attend to the one without neglecting 
the other. It is not so with God. Do you say that he will not 
stoop to mind little things? Look around you. Behold what 
minute attention he has bestowed upon thousands of objects, which 
to us appear small and insignificant ! See how curiously he has 
painted the wings of the butterfly ! How softly he has pencilled 
the cups of the snow-drop ! Let the little daisy, which you care- 
lessly tread under foot, declare who shaped its many leaflets, who 
tipped them with crimson, and placed in the midst a circle of gold. 
Which of the birds has God forgotten to feed? Which of the in- 
sects, that dance in the sunbeams, has he left unfinished for want of 
time, or because of their insignificance ? How has he descended from 
his majesty to give lessons of wisdom to the little ant and the bee ! 
In the whole kingdom of nature, we cannot perceive one instance 
of hasty inattention, or of supercilious dignity. God has forgotten 
nothing. He has despised nothing. How can w T e conceive then, 
that he should forget or despise us! Why should the prayers of 
his rational creatures alone escape his notice ! Why should their 
souls be too insignificant to attract his benevolent attention 1 Be- 
sides, what should induce you to suppose, that a soul is a small or 
valueless thing in the sight of God ? Think you that he has laid 
out so much wisdom upon making and informing a thing of little 
worth ? He has made us capable of knowing him. This marks 
our value in his sight ; for nothing can be worthless, that is capable 
of knowing God. And it affords us a sufficient intimation, that if 
we ask God for the knowledge of which he has made us capable, 
he will be willing to give it to us. We cannot be accused of offer- 
ing an unreasonable petition, when we desire only to know Him 
who made us; for without this knowledge, we /-might as well have 
been made in all respects like the irrational creatures. 

5. But not only are we justified in supposing that God is willing 
to teach us ; we have also every reason to infer, that he is more 
willing to instruct those who pray, than those who do not pray to 
him ; to bestow his gifts upon those who appear desirous of obtain- 
ing them, rather than upon those who set on them no value whatever. 
For a creature not to seek the knowledge of his Creator, is a neg- 
lect which bespeaks him to be sunk in the most hopeless stupidity, 
and the vilest ingratitude. To revel in the gifts, and forget the 
giver, or to remember him with indifference ; to thirst after earthly 
wisdom, and yet to have no ardent aspirations after Him who is 
the fountain of true wisdom ; argues such gross perverseness and 
inconsistency, that we cannot much wonder, if God should leave 
those who are guilty of it, to grope in their own cherished igno- 
rance. But to pretend that we aspire to know God, and yet to 



232 THE TEST OF TRUTH. 

neglect even the effort of asking Him to teach us : — this is indeed 
to add to all other crimes, that barefaced hypocrisy, which can 
scarcely impose upon men, and is openly insulting to God. Little 
as we know of this infinite Being, the secret instinct, which himself 
has planted in our hearts, may teach us, that he will not probably 
bestow his most precious gifts without some expression of desire on 
our part. He may reasonably expect that we should not show our- 
selves quite insensible to our need of this divine teaching, and may 
justly conclude, that what we do not choose to solicit, we do not 
desire to obtain. 

But I think I hear you reply — "Shall I offer such an insult to 
the Omniscience of God, as to imagine that he needs to be informed 
of my wants?" Who requires you to entertain so absurd a suppo- 
sition? We do not tell you that prayer is necessary for God's 
information, but for )^our relief. He may know all your wants, 
and yet require that you should have a sense of them, and should 
express that sense to him before he will grant you a supply. He 
may know that prayer, as the means of softening, humbling, and 
purifying your hearts, is not the least pressing of your necessities. 
He who has made you capable of receiving consolation by pouring 
out your troubles into the bosom of a friend, may be willing that 
you should enjoy the infinitely superior relief of confiding your 
wants and sorrows to the ear of his mercy. None of these suppo- 
sitions are impossible or improbable, even upon your own notions 
of Deity. Inasmuch as you believe that God is an exalted and a 
benevolent Being, they are far more probable than the contrary 
supposition. 

You reason more justly on points which affect your temporal 
interests. You do not refuse to plough and sow, to plant and water, 
because God already knoios that you want the fruits of the earth, 
and ought therefore to give them to you without your wearisome 
toil. You care not to spend many an anxious hour in the acquisi- 
tion of useful knowledge, because God knows that it would be very 
useful to you, and is therefore bound to instil it into your mind 
without your pains. No: in these things your worldly interest or 
pleasure is concerned. You have a real desire for them. And 
therefore, instead of sitting down to philosophize on the part that 
God ought to take on the occasion, you immediately sit yourself to 
do what you can : and employ, without hesitation, whatever means 
seem best suited to your purpose. 

Prayer seems to be the only direct and rational means of obtain- 
ing the knowledge of God. For there is no other being in the uni- 
verse, to whom we can apply with such certainty of not being 
misled. Yet truly you will not pray to God, because he needs none 
of your information. If you really longed to acquaint yourself 
with God, the sense of your need would force from you the most 
earnest supplications : nor would you be at leisure to consider 
whether or no you were conveying to him a piece of gratuitous 
information. The heart, that is touched with a desire to know God, 



THE TEST OF TRUTH. 233 

will be lifting itself up in prayer, while others are reasoning upon 
the propriety of so doing. 

Again, although God is not ignorant how much we need to be 
rightly informed about him, yet the state of the world affords suffi- 
cient proof that he has not in all cases relieved this necessity. So 
that his perfect knowledge of our wants does not, as an inevitable 
consequence, and without any application on our parts, produce the 
relief of our wants. Besides, you have already waited some twenty, 
thirty, forty years. All this time God has been aware of your need 
of instruction. Yet you are still in a state of doubt and ignorance. 
Surely you have waited long enough to see whether God will grant 
a spontaneous relief to your necessities. It is now high time to 
employ means for the attainment of your wish. And since prayer 
has been shown to be the most likely and natural means, let me 
advise you at once to try what prayer can do for you. At all 
events, you will not then have to reproach yourself with having lost 
the best blessing in the universe for want of asking. 

6. But, lastly, whatever be the result of your prayers, they cer- 
tainly cannot leave you in a worse condition than before. For 
supposing even that God should refuse to grant your petition, it is 
of all things the most unlikely and inconceivable, that he should 
take a malignant pleasure in thwarting your desires, by giving you 
the very contrary of what you ask. Should he refuse to give you 
knowledge, he will not at least visit you with an increase of igno- 
rance and delusion. The argument with which Jesus Christ urges 
this subject, if not divinely uttered, is, to say the least of it, the 
most wise, appropriate and convincing, that ever fell from the lips 
of man or angel. 

" If a son shall ask bread of any of you that is a father, will 
he give him a stone ? or if he ask a fish, will he for a fish give 
him a serpent ? or if he shall ask an egg, will he offer him a 
scorpion ? If ye then, being evil, know how to give good 
gifts unto your children, how much more shall your 
Heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that 
ask him V* 

The simple majesty of this appeal must find its way to every 
bosom. It must be felt by all, whose hearts have throbbed with a 
parent's love, or whose wants have been supplied by a parent's 
bounty. It applies to the ideas which the Deist entertains of God, 
as well as to those which are cherished by the follower of Jesus. 
According to your own notions (if notions you may be said to have, 
where all is so vague and indistinct), you reject with abhorrence 
the idea, that the God who made and who preserves you, is an 
Unnatural Father, who, with wanton cruelty, would thwart the 
noblest aim and cast down the most reasonable hope of his own 
offspring. Such a character of God is not to be found in the 
wildest ravings of impiety. Could any one believe this of God, 
despair would soon prey upon his existence. Yet this principle 

* Luke xi. 11—13. 






234 



THE TEST OF TRUTH. 



you indirectly maintain : — this solemn insult you offer to the char- 
acter of God ; when you assert that habits of prayer lead to 
enthusiasm. Not only so, but you outrage the common sense and 
common feeling of mankind, which declare, as by an instinct 
implanted by the Giver of life himself, that a father cannot turn 
the petition of his child into derision. But you say, t#at the great, 
the original Father, can and does act thus in opposition to his own 
universal law. You say, that, when his children ask bread, he 
mocks them with a stone ; when they implore food, he offers them 
nought but the scorpion's venom. When a man, deeply impressed 
with a sense of his ignorance, asks of God the knowledge of his 
holy will: no sooner does he betake himself to this way of gaining 
information, than you cry out, that he is possessed with the spirit 
of enthusiasm and delusion. The more earnestly and frequently 
he entreats God to give him light and truth, the more deluded you 
think him ; that, is (for it will bear no other interpretation), you 
think that God derides the requests of his creatures, and forces 
them deeper into the maze of ignorance and error, for no other 
reason, but because they have stretched out their hands to Him to 
extricate them. Ye who profess to make reason your guide, tell 
me, was it reason that led you to this conclusion 'I Where will 
you find in the Bible any mode of arguing half so absurd as this is? 

A brief recapitulation of the above observations may not be 
unnecessary. We have remarked, that God must be in full posses- 
sion of the information we require : — that he must be able to hear 
us when we pray to him : — able to give us what we ask : — that we 
have great reason to infer that he is ■willing to hear and teach 
us : — more willing to teach those who ask him, than those who do 
not ask him : — and lastly, that, be the result of our application 
what it may, it cannot leave us in a worse state than we were in 
before. From all these things I infer, that to seek the knowledge 
of God by prayer is no absurd or irrational mode of procedure : nay 
more, that the expediency of prayer is in the same ratio with the 
probability of God's existence. Or, to accommodate myself to the 
lowest degree of belief ; the very slightest possibility that there is a 
God, affords an equal possibility that he may instruct us in answer 
to our prayers, and therefore renders the act of prayer reasonable 
and expedient. The saying of Jesus Christ — " Ask, and it shall be 
given you:" — "God will give his Holy Spirit to them that ask 
him ;"* — is not only the voice of the Bible, but the voice of reason, 
the voice of nature, and, therefore, the voice of God. 

But we have hitherto considered this saying only in itself. I 
propose, secondly, to consider it in connection with the book in which 
it is written, and to propose it as a fair and sufficient test of the 
truth or falsehood of that book. 

It appears, from the common confession of Christians and Infidels, 
that the world is, to say the least, not very well furnished with the 
knowledge of its Maker. Nothing, therefore, which offers the 

* Luke xi. 9, 13. 



THE TEST OF TRUTH. 



235 



smallest hope of obtaining light upon this momentous subject, ought 
to be passed over without inquiry. A book has been handed clown 
to us, professing to be a revelation from God to man, and offering 
him all the knowledge of which he stands in need. This book is 
by some blindly embraced, for the very same reason that would 
have induced them, under other circumstances, to have adopted the 
Alcoran, the Shaster, or the Zende vesta. Others profess to receive 
it upon rational grounds of conviction, and to hold actual communi- 
cation with the Deity who is revealed in its sacred message. A 
third party reject the book altogether, and cast it from them with 
every mark of contempt. With these last I would now speak. Do 
not reject even the Bible, till you have put its truth or falsehood 
fairly to the test. But you say, "How are we to try it? all the 
evidence we meet with appears to us insufficient. We refuse to give 
credit to the writings of the Apostles. We never saw the miracles 
they relate ; they are not, therefore, calculated for our conviction. 
Such things are contrary to our experience, shock our common sense, 
and ■ we write 'imposture' upon them all. As for the revelation 
they pretend to have received from God ; that revelation never 
came to us. We are in no respect benefited by it. If God will 
have us to believe as they did, he must reveal himself to us as he 
did to them. We cannot receive the thing at second-hand. When 
the God of the Scriptures shall favor us by revealing himself to us ; 
when he shall afford us some infallible test whereby we may prove 
that his word is true : — then we will open our minds to conviction. 
But till then, we must retain our doubts upon the subject." 

Such is the reasoning we repeatedly hear from the lips of Infidels. 
I will not now stop to admire the self-complacency, with which you 
boldy pronounce a thing to be impossible, because it has never hap- 
pened within the little span of your experience ; and unreasonable, 
because it surpasses the narrow bounds of your understanding. 
Neither will I pause to extol the spirit, with which, as a creature, 
you think proper to dictate to your Creator. Waving all considera- 
tion of the terms in which you express yourself, I admit the general 
truth of your proposition. I am persuaded, that you never will 
believe the Scriptures, till God himself " opens your understanding 
to understand the Scriptures." And I assure you that these same 
Scriptures contain abundant provision against the difficulties you 
have raised. They offer you ample means of proving, by your own 
personal experience, whether they be true or false. That im- 
mediate revelation which you profess to desire, is actually pro- 
mised to you upon the simple condition of your asking for it. 
" Ask, and it shall be given you"* 

What is the gift here promised? It is no other than " the Spirit 
of wisdom and revelation, who shall guide you into all truth." 
" For every one that asketh receiveth : and he that seeketh flndeth ; 
and to him that knocketh it shall be opened. For if ye, being evil. 

* See the Author's interesting and satisfactory application of this Test to her own 
case, pp. 64—07. 



236 THE TEST OF TRUTH. 

know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more 
shall your Heavenly Father give His Holy Spirit to them that 
ask him ?" , 

Take Jesus Christ at his word. The experiment is at 
once simple and decisive. Should it fail, you will then have some 
reason to reject the Bible. Truth, immutable truth, is one of the 
attributes which reason and Scripture concur in ascribing to God. 
We cannot form to ourselves the conception of a God who can lie. 
To divest God of his attribute of (ruth, is to strip him of his God- 
head ; to bring him down to a level with ourselves. The Bible 
makes this a grand distinction between God and man: "God is 
not a man, that he should lie." " He is ever mindful of his cove- 
nant" — but they, like men, " have transgressed the covenant."* 

Here, then, the question is brought within a very narrow compass. 
If the Creator of the universe be the same God who is revealed in 
the Scriptures, he cannot but honor his own word of promise. He 
has pledged himself: — he cannot but redeem his pledge. Every 
attribute of the Deity binds him to the performance of bis promise. 
His name, his great and terrible name, is dishonored forever in the 
sight of men and angels, if he fail to fulfil this word which is past, 
and cannot be recalled: — "God will give his Holy Spirit to them 
that ask him." Such is the Scripture account. If it be false, you 
have an easy way to detect its falsehood. If true, it is in your 
power to convince yourself of its truth. Put to the test this bold 
assertion. Ask your Heavenly Father to give you his Holy Spirit. 
If your prayer be granted, the Bible, with all its rich proffers of 
present peace and eternal happiness, will become your portion and 
reward forever. If, on the contrary, your ardent, persevering 
prayers should bring down no supplies of light and knowledge from 
above, then you may not only with great justice pronounce the 
Bible to be an impudent imposture ; but you will be justified in 
doubting whether there be any God at all. 

I would press this upon you, because no external evidence, how- 
ever satisfactory, is of itself sufficient to produce conviction. The 
proof must be written by the finger of God upon your heart. It 
must be the result of your own actual and personal experience. 
"No man can say," from the heart, "that Jesus is the Lord, but 
by the Holy Ghost? If you believe in Jesus, it must be because 
God has revealed Jesus in your soul. This revelation is promised 
by God to all that ask him. Upon slighter grounds you ought not 
to believe such momentous truths. With less than this you ought 
not to be satisfied. Permit me, before I quit this subject,, to urge 
you, by a few unanswerable arguments, to put the Bible to this test. 
The task might almost appear superfluous : but the perverseness 
of the human heart is beyond conception, and requires to be com- 
bated where it would be least suspected of resistance. 

First, then, I would remark to you, that there is something in 
this saying, which stamps on it an air of conscious honesty and 

* Numb, xxiii. 19. Psalm cxi. 5. Joshua vii. It. 



THE TEST OF TRUTH. 237 

veracity. An artful person would hardly have committed himself 
so grossly. A liar would have hesitated to expose himself to such 
immediate detectioa. An impostor would not willingly have courted 
such close examination. Those who forge the current coin of the 
nation, are the least likely to furnish us with a method of distin- 
guishing the counterfeit. Iflwishto palm upon you a fictitious 
account of any person, that person himself would surely be the last 
to whom I should choose to refer you for the truth of my account. 
Still more absurd would such a reference be, if I knew that it was 
in the power of the said person instantly to detect and expose my 
falsehood. But the Bible gives you an account of God, and then 
refers you to God himself for the confirmation of that account. 
Nor is this one of those ranting, contemptible appeals to the Deity, 
with which men will sometimes seek to cloak their falsehood, or 
to vent their enthusiasm. It is a calm ; sober, deliberate assur- 
ance ; founded on the benevolence and wisdom of the Divine Being. 
Foreseeing all the doubts and difficulties which would obstruct the 
reception of his Gospel, Jesus himself vouchsafes to point out a ready 
way of arriving at the truth. He founds his arguments on the 
strongest and most universal principles of natural religion. Would 
you know whether he is indeed a teacher sent from God? He 
refers you to God himself for an answer. He declares to you that 
you cannot believe him to be the Lord but by the Holy Ghost. At 
the same time He solemnly promises that his Holy Spirit shall 
be given to you upon your asking. 

Try now whether he is able to keep his promise or no. Who- 
ever God is, he will not refuse to instruct you at your request. Or 
should he refuse, he will not at least lend himself to delude and 
ensnare you. Jesus tells you that his doctrine is the bread of life. 
Should it, on the contrary, prove to be nothing better than a stone 
or a scorpion, be assured that your Heavenly Father will not force 
it upon you, when you ask him for bread. 

The next remark I will offer for your consideration is, that how- 
ever secure you may think yourself in your rejection of Christi- 
anity, it is possible you may be mistaken. I say, it is possible, 
that you may, after all, be in the ivrong. Not all your security 
can reach so far as to preclude this possibility ; and what an eter- 
nity of despair does it involve ! Your judgment is not infallible. 
If you think you have no proof that the Scriptures are divinely 
inspired, you know assuredly that you have no proof to the con- 
trary. A mistake here is no trifling matter. You had better play 
the fool on any other subject than on this ; for should things turn 
out contrary to your expectations, you will bitterly curse your folly. 
The idiot, the madman, may sport with this tremendous uncer- 
tainty. But the wise man will consider every possible contingency. 
I repeat, that it is possible your contempt of the Bible may be 
unfounded. Place this as far off as you are able. Still you can- 
not deny that it is possible. 

Reflect now, I beseech you, on another possibility, which hangs 



238 THE TEST OF TRUTH. 

on the one I have just mentioned. It is possible that you may 
one day stand before the judgment seat of Christ. Should such 
an event take place, what excuse will you offer for having rejected 
the Gospel, when Jesus himself pointed out to you so simple and 
unfailing- a test of its truth? Will you not stand condemned even 
in your own eyes? Will not conscience upbraid you with the 
incredible infatuation, with which you refused to give the word of 
God a fair trial? Say — will not your rejection of the test I now 
offer you, if — which God forbid ! you do reject it — will not this be 
a dreadful aggravation of your crime? You cannot plead igno- 
rance, when knowledge was offered you at so easy a rate. You 
cannot plead uncertainty when so ready a way of solving every 
doubt was pointed out to you by Him, who will then be your 
Judge. You might have asked and received. You might have 
sought and found. Then will you justly be left to ask and to seek 
in vain. Now Christ says, "Ask, and it shall be given unto you." 
Reject his offer — and this very word which he has spoken to you, 
will judge you in that day. 

Not only will you then appear without excuse before God ; but, 
w T hether the Bible be true or false, if you refuse to try it by this 
criterion, you are now without excuse before men and your own 
conscience. Such a refusal speaks for itself. It says — "I love 
darkness rather than light, I will not come to the light, lest my 
deeds should be reproved."* It "says to the Almighty, ; Depart 
from me ; for I desire not the knowledge of thy ways.' "t Such 
conduct is not founded in reason ; for reason forbids us to condemn 
what we have not tried. It is not supported by philosophy ; for it 
is her character to use every possible means for the discovery of 
truth, and the detection of error. It is not consistent with honesty ; 
for what can be more dishonest than to plead the absence of suffi- 
cient proof as a reason for not believing ; and yet, when that proof 
is offered, to decline taking the necessary steps for its attainment ! 
It is easy to perceive the secret spring of a refusal, which is equally 
incompatible with the dictates of reason, philosophy, and honesty. 
You do dot wish to have your prejudices removed. You have 
chosen error, and you hold it fast. You would rather not know 
any thing about him that made you. Self is your idol ; and how 
can you desire to become acquainted with One, whose presence in 
your soul would destroy all self-pleasing, and self-exaltation for- 
ever ? 

However, we have a right to expect, that if you will not make 
trial of the truth of Christ's word, you will at once confess, that 
all your boasted candor and philosophy were mere pretences, held 
forth to conceal the reality of your enmity against God. Till you 
have tried this test, may not the terms, fanaticism and delusion. 
with far greater reason be used to designate your rejection, than 
our belief of Christianity? 

Again, supposing the Bible to be false, you lose nothing- by hav- 

* See John iii. 19, 20. f See Job xxi. 14. 



THE TEST OF TRUTH. 239 

ing brought it to this touchstone. The trial, if it should fail, will 
but leave you just as you was before. Nay, it will be so far an 
advantage that you will have the pleasure of detecting a bare- 
faced fraud, and will be effectually freed from those secret misgiv- 
ings which you cannot now altogether exclude. 

On the other hand, if the Scriptures be true, how immensely 
will you gain by the experiment ! Instead of a few vague ill- 
defined notions of God, you will be able to say — ' : I know in whom 
I have believed ;" — " this God is my God forever and ever ;"* your 
short-lived participation of unholy mirth will be exchanged for " a 
joy with which no stranger intermeddleth"t — your cold and sullen 
fortitude, for a peace which the world can neither give nor take 
away — your comfortless prospect of annihilation, for a hope full of 
immortality. 

The last consideration I shall urge upon you, is, that this is the 
only fair test by which the Bible can be tried. For if you refuse 
to be guided by this criterion, there is but one other to which you 
can possibly recur. You may, if you please, bring the Scriptures 
to the bar of human reason, and reject them because you find 
many things you do not comprehend, and many that you do not 
approve. But these grounds of rejection are insufficient. 

For, in the first place, if the Bible be true, its Author is God. 
Now there is between your mind and the mind of God an incon- 
ceivable distance. It is extremely probable that many things 
may appear to His infinitely comprehensive understanding, in a 
light totally different from that in which they are viewed by your 
limited reason. To use the words of the Bible itself, it is possible 
that " God's ways may not be as your ways, nor his thoughts as 
your thoughts."!: If then His Book should turn out to be some- 
what different from the Bible which you would have written, I 
really do not see that this is a sufficient reason for rejecting it. 
Consider the vast difference of ideas which inequality of intellect 
creates between two beings of the same nature ; — a child and a 
man. Set before a little child the Elements of Euclid, or the Prin- 
cipia of Newton. Will they not be foolishness to him ? Or pre- 
sent him with the last debates in the houses of Parliament, and re- 
quest his opinion upon the disputed point ; the justness of the argu- 
ments in its favor, or the force of those that were opposed to it. 
Is he capable of forming a correct estimate of these things ? But 
these are matters that do not immediately concern him. Well 
then, let me propose that you acquaint him with the plans you 
may have formed for his education and fortune; the studies he 
will have to pursue, with their different degrees of usefulness ; the 
snares that will be laid for his youth, and the anxieties that await 
his manhood. When you have finished your statement, let the 
young reasoner be called upon to give his ideas on the subject, and 
point out how far your remarks meet with his appoval. All this 
appears very absurd to you. But it is without comparison more 
* 2 Tim. i. 12, Psalm xlviii. 14. t Prov. xiv. 14. X Isaiah lv. 8. 



240 THE TEST OF TRUTH. 

absurd to fancy yourself capable of judging of the authenticity of 
God's word, by its agreement or disagreement with your own most 
imperfect notions. 

Notwithstanding the child's incapacity of judgment, he is in one 
respect a better reasoner than yourself. Strange and unaccountable 
as your sentiments must sometimes appear to him, he does not 
therefore reject them as absurd or untrue. He knows that it is 
owing to the imperfection of his own mind that things appear so 
differently to him from what they do to you. This feeling sense of 
his own inferiority is the best preservative from error. But you 
cannot bring yourself to confess that the judgment of God may 
often differ exceedingly from your judgment: nay, that they may 
be directly contrary the one to the other. You cannot condescend 
to be inferior to God, and to learn of God ; submitting your mind 
to His, as a little child submits his mind to the mind of his father. 

Yet between the understanding of the child and the man, there 
is no such great difference. It is but the distance between finite 
and finite; between worm and worm. But between man and God 
—between finite and infinite— between the mind that thinks and 
the mind that creates thought; — who shall calculate the difference? 
It is immeasurable, incomprehensible. Imagination would grasp 
at the idea ; — but it is too mighty for her. We can but express it 
by another incommensurable distance — "surely as the heavens are 
higher than the earth, so are God's thoughts higher than our 
thoughts, and his ways than our ways."* Poor, pitiful, narrow- 
minded creatures that we are ! If God does but give to one of our 
fellow-creatures a mind a few degrees greater than our own, we 
can scarcely judge of, or appreciate that mind, by reason of our 
own low and short-sighted prejudices. Yet we presume to think 
of measuring the Infinite, of comprehending the incomprehensible 
mind of God! We bring the Omniscient down to the bar of hu- 
man judgment; and insist upon his expressing himself according 
to our weak and varying notions of propriety ! 

It is not then any argument against a book said to be written by 
God, if it should contain many things above the reason of man. 
For we are infinitely less capable of judging of what ought or ought 
not to be the mind of God, than an infant is to decide upon the 
thoughts and counsels of the most eminent statesman or philosopher. 

But you will perhaps reply, that, supposing you had written a 
book expressly for the use of your child, you would have taken care 
to accommodate it to his capacity ; and that it is reasonable in like 
manner to infer, that if God had written a book expressly for our 
use, he would have stooped to the narrowness of our understandings. 
I admit the justice of your inference. But permit me to make 
another supposition. Put the case that you had written a book 
for your child's use, and that you were to warn him beforehand 
that he would find many things too difficult for his unassisted com- 
prehension ; which things, if he would ask you, you would render 

* See Isaiah lv. 9. 



THE TEST OP TRUTH. 241 

perfectly intelligible to him. Would the child then have reason to 
complain that the meaning of the book was obscure to him ? Sure- 
ly not. Now this is what the Bible assures you that God has 
done. He has written a book for the use of men, which, oy rea- 
son of their imperfect and incorrect views, they cannot of them- 
selves fully understand. He has told them, that if they will ask 
of Him, He will make it plain and intelligible to them. Whether 
this account be true or false, can only be ascertained by making the 
experiment. It seems at least worth trying. 

But again, we have two books besides, which we know can have 
no other author than God — the book of Creation, and the book of 
Providence. Do these contain nothing difficult to be understood, 
nothing that we cannot easily reconcile with our ideas ? Rather — 
do we not meet with obscurities, not to say apparent contradictions, 
in every page ? 

Is not the book of Nature incomprehensible ? How unaccounta- 
ble to our ideas, that the burying of a dry, diminutive seed should 
be foliowed by its resurrection in the shape of a lovely flower, or a 
stately tree ! How strange that one day should behold the lifeless 
caterpillar wrapped in a winding-sheet of its own making, and the 
next should present it to us winged with life and beauty, the gayest 
of the fluttering creation ! There is not in the whole book of Na- 
ture a single line that is legible to us from beginning to end. We 
can read enough to wonder and adore, but not enough to under- 
stand. 

And as for the book of Providence, are not its contents still more 
dark and mysterious ? Does it not contain ten thousand articles, 
which to our weak judgment appear absolutely inconsistent and 
contradictory? How often are the righteous visited with one 
affliction after another, while the wicked are not in trouble as other 
men ! ' : They are full of substance, and leave the rest of their 
treasure to their babes ;" but the righteous are poor and oppressed. 
These are some of the seeming incongruities of the book of Provi- 
dence. They are by no means the most remarkable. To us it 
often appears a succession of paradoxes. 

If now a third book be offered to us, even the Bible, professing 
also to be from God; shall we deny that it is genuine, merely be- 
cause it is marked by the very same peculiarities of style, which 
distinguished the other works of the same Author? Surely this 
remarkable coincidence of style is any thing rather than an objec- 
tion to its authenticity. 

When you object to the Bible on the ground of its being opposed 
to your reason ; we have yet another cause to doubt, whether 
reason is at all to be relied on in the matter. For if you look 
round upon all the kingdoms of the earth, and observe the absurd 
degrading notions which men entertain of the Deity, you will per- 
ceive that the human mind is little capable of forming sublime or 
even reasonable notions concerning him. As you too profess to be 
guided by unassisted reason, you can scarcely be sure that your 



242 THE TEST OF TRUTH. 

ideas of God may not be just as remote from the truth as those of 
the ignorant savage, who says to a stone, " Thou art my God." 
You will tell me, that you have the superior advantages of an en- 
lightened philosophy, and a cultivated intellect. I fear this argu- 
ment will not stand you in much stead. For what were those 
gods, who, in the opinion of the enlightened and cultivated nations 
of Greece and Rome, " in High Olympus ruled the middle air?" 
They were a set of mere men. loose and unprincipled men ; with 
rather more than human power, and less than human virtue. 
These enlightened and philosophical nations conceived " that God 
was altogether such an one as themselves." If your ideas are 
more rational than theirs, it is not because you are naturally better 
informed than they were : but because some of your notions have 
been refined from the grossness of their sensuality by that despised 
system of theology, the Bible. Their example may warn you 
how little reason can avail us in searching after the Almighty. 
A few of the wisest of them perceived that they were wrong, but 
confessed that all their philosophy was insufficient to find out what 
was right. With these, the Maker of the universe, if not Jupiter or 
Saturn, was still "the unknown God." Yet they had the same 
reason to guide them ; the same helps (unless you will acknowl- 
edge the Bible to be a help), that you have in the present day. 
Can you tell us why you should hope to succeed, where they so 
egregiously failed? Reason, in the case of every nation in the 
world, has proved a blind guide; can you tell us how it comes to 
pass that she should, in your individual case, prove so wonderfully 
clear-sighted? May not the ideas of God which reason has taught 
you, be just as wide of the truth as her suggestions to the Heathen 
nations, whom she persuaded to "change the glory of the incor- 
ruptible God into an image made like unto corruptible man, and to 
birds, and four-footed beasts, and creeping things ?"* And if you 
cannot be sure of the correctness of your notions, is it safe to reject 
the Bible, merely because it does not coincide with those notions? 

Once more; if you repeat that you cannot believe the Bible, 
because its contents appear absurd, if not contradictory to you : we 
reply, that this is no more than the Bible itself has foretold. 
" The natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God ; 
for they are foolishness unto him; neither can he know them, be- 
cause they are spiritually discerned ."t Let me again put the case 
home to your own experience. Suppose you had written a treatise 
on some particular subject, and had distinctly and repeatedly de- 
clared, that to a certain description of readers, destitute of a certain 
degree of information, your book must, from the very nature of the 
thing, be incomprehensible, and even wear an appearance of glar- 
ing absurdity. Would you not think yourself unfairly dealt by, if 
your performance were to fall into contempt, because those very 
persons whom you had declared incompetent to. judge, were to 
assure the world that they had read it, and found it both obscure 

* See Romans i. 23. f See Corinthians ii. 14. 



THE TEST OF TRUTH. 243 

and ridiculous 1 But let us further suppose, that you had not 
only forewarned these people of the incapacity they labored under, 
but had also pointed out a method, by which they might acquire 
sufficient knowledge to enter into the meaning of your work, and to 
estimate it at its real value. Would you not accuse them of tenfold 
disingenuousness in decrying your production without giving them- 
selves the trouble of examining it by the method you had proposed ? 

Is not this disingenuous, this un philosophical proceeding, the 
very counterpart of your own conduct with regard to that book, 
upon which, for any thing you have yet proved to the contrary, your 
eternal happiness or misery may depend % The Scriptures offer 
themselves to you as the word of God. They assure you that sin 
has so blinded and depraved your reason, that you are incapable of 
affixing a just meaning, or a true value, to their sacred contents, 
until that reason is informed and enlightened by the Spirit of God. 
They instruct you how to obtain this divine illumination — " Ask, 
and it shall be given you." 

Now let us observe your mode of proceeding. You set about 
judging the Bible by that very faculty, which the Bible has de- 
clared to be incapable of judging correctly. This you do, in the 
face of the united testimony of every age and nation, to the utter 
incapacity of reason, as a guide to religion. You not only neglect, 
but absolutely despise the offer which the Bible makes you of divine 
teaching : though common sense, common feeling, and experience 
concur in proclaiming its necessity. And then, with consummate 
assurance, you step forward and inform the world that you have 
fairly examined the Bible, and proved it to be a mere cunningly- 
devised fable. Is this fair and open? Is it just and reasonable? 
Is it wise and judicious ? 

It appears, then, from the vast difference which must be supposed 
to exist between our minds and the mind of God ; from the anal- 
ogies that we may gather from His Creation and Providence ; 
from the confusion and ignorance of the whole world respecting 
him ; and from the account, which the Bible gives of its own nature 
and purpose ; that the unassisted reason is not capable of deciding 
upon its truth or falsehood. The criterion is absolutely unfair and 
inapplicable ; alike condemned by common sense and common 
honesty. A deaf man is no very accurate judge of sounds ; nor is 
a blind man adapted to decide upon the merits of a picture. Even 
so is human reason utterly incapable of discerning the beauty and 
glory of the sacred page, until the same Almighty Power which 
created that reason, is pleased to shine into and enlighten it. Now, 
if there is the smallest hope that so great a blessing may be had 
for the asking, what perverseness will it argue on our parts, to 
decline making the attempt! 

That I may preclude every possibility of misapprehension, let 
me add a very few words as to the nature of this asking or prayer, 
and the answer which may be expected to it. 

And first, as to the nature of prayer. I need hardly tell you 



244 THE TEST OF TRUTH. 

that it must be sincere. No promise is made to the mere asking 
of the lips. You may thus ask wisdom of God, and when he 
makes you no answer, you may triumphantly declare that the 
Scripture promise is broken. This may pass current with your 
fellow-men. But it will neither deceive yourself nor God. Con- 
science will bear witness that you have not really prayed. The 
Searcher of hearts is insulted by such lip petitions. To grant 
them, would be to part with his Omniscience. 

Nor is it enough that the desire after knowledge be sincere. It 
must also be fervent. Indeed, it is difficult to imagine the one 
without the other. For if we desire a thing in proportion to its 
value, then, by how much the knowledge of God is better than 
any earthly knowledge, by so much ought the fervency with which 
we long for it, to exceed the fervency of our desires after any 
earthly object. The soul that is really thirsting after her Maker, 
her God, the proper centre of her desires and hopes, will thirst after 
him with a degree of ardor and fixedness, of which no earthly 
longing can convey an adequate idea. The hungry man fainting 
for want of food ; the thirsty traveller languishing for water ; these 
are but poor and inexpressive emblems of the soul that is hunger- 
ing and thirsting after God. To desire God coldly, and other objects 
with eagerness, is such an inversion of the right order of things; 
it is so immensely to undervalue the only things which cannot be 
prized too highly, that we can hardly, without arrogance, expect 
that God will condescend to such faint desires, or fulfil such luke- 
warm petitions. I believe that the faintest wish, if sincere, will 
not pass unnoticed by Him who "despiseth not the day of small 
things. 7 ' But if our longings after such an unspeakable good be 
not intensely excited, we have every reason to question their sin- 
cerity. To desire God without intenseness, seems more inconsistent 
than not to desire him at all. We may desire a trifle faintly : for 
our wish is in proportion to its value. But to desire the living 
God ; the Original of all wisdom, excellency, beauty, glory and 
felicity ; and yet not to burn with uncontrollable longings of the 
soul after Him ; this is an anomaly, which can only be met with 
in a guilty and fallen world ; and it proves at how low a rate the 
very best and wisest of mankind do value God. The Spirit of 
God must both excite and satisfy this longing. The more we ask, 
the more we shall desire, and the more w T e shall be satisfied. 

I conceive then that this asking implies sincere and fervent de- 
sire. It is the asking Of the heart, and to such only is the promise 
made. "Then shall ye seek me and find me, when ye shall search 
for me with all your hearth* 

Suffer me now to direct your attention for a moment to the an- 
swer, which may be expected from such asking as I have described. 
On this head I have two brief cautions to offer to you. 

1. You have a right to expect a convincing answer to your 
prayers ; but you have no reason to expect that it will be miracu- 

* Jer. xxix. 13. 



THE TEST OP TRUTH. 245 

lous. I do not mean to say that God cannot, if he please, convince 
you by a miracle. This, however, is not his ordinary method of 
dealing with his creatures. He who once brought light out of 
darkness with the word — " Let there be light" — now sends forth 
" the sun every morning like a bridegroom out of his chamber,"! 
and he gives light to all the world in the ordinary course of nature. 
So He, who caused the first beams of the Sun of Righteousness to 
shine miraculously upon mankind, now illuminates the hearts of 
men by the ordinary process of inward rational conviction. It is 
fitting that it should be so. We are reasonable creatures ; and our 
understandings must be convinced, ere our hearts can be con- 
verted. No outward miracle can effect this ; but only the inward 
miracle of opening the heart to attend, and the mind to under- 
stand ; of dispelling the dark mists of ignorance, prejudice, and 
error, that benight the soul ; and above all, of eradicating that en- 
mity to God, which is the secret and bitter root of all unbelief. Per- 
haps what 1 am now saying seems strange and mysterious to you. 
I will enter no further into the subject. Only try the experiment 
I have proposed to you, and you will understand all this, and much 
more. 

I would, in the second place, caution you not to expect an im- 
mediate answer to your prayers. Here again, we may gather, from 
the analogy of God's dealings with us in temporal things, some 
idea of what we are to expect from him in spiritual things. Every 
process in the works of Nature, and in the development of mind, 
is carried on by slow and sometimes imperceptible degrees. We 
sow our seed ; but we must wait with patience, till His sun and 
His rain have brought it to perfection. Yet we do not the less 
confidently expect an abundant crop, because we know that it will 
not spring up in a single night. Again, in acquiring any of the 
arts and sciences, how many tedious processes we have to pass 
through. Yet we are not so foolish as to throw them aside in de- 
spair, because we cannot master them in a few hours. And rea- 
soning from analogy, we have no ground to expect that the knowl- 
edge of God will be the growth of an hour ; or that so mighty a 
blessing will be showered down at the very first request we deign to 
offer. Consider, I beseech you, how long God has been waiting 
upon you with this invitation. Wonder not if he keep you waiting 
for a time in your turn. But this will be as He pleases. I only 
mention it, lest any who have really begun to pray should feel 
discouraged at perceiving no immediate benefit from their prayers. 
God has nowhere promised to answer us so suddenly. But He 
will not keep us waiting without bestowing on us so much light 
and strength as will encourage us to persevere. " O tarry then 
the Lord's leisure; be strong, and he shall comfort, thine heart; 
wait, I say, on the Lord/'t 

I close this part of my subject, with the advice of the prophet — 
" Halt no longer between two opinions." If the Jehovah of the 

* See Psalm xix. 4, 5. f Ibid xxvii. 14. 



246 THE TEST OP TRUTH. 

Scriptures be God, serve Him ; but if the God whom Deists have 
fancied to themselves be God, then serve him. I have pointed out 
to you a way of deciding the question. Bring the Scriptures to the 
touchstone of truth. " The God who answers prayer, let 
Him be God."* 

" Ask, and it shall be given you." Ask sincerely, fervently, per - 
severingly. If you thus ask, and receive not — I consent that you 
shall renounce the Bible forever. If you ask and receive, then will 
the Bible become your cherished guide, the very joy and rejoicing 
of your heart. Then will you bless the day that led you to the 
" Test of Truth." 

* 1 Kings xviii. 22—24. 



THE TEST OF TRUTH 



PART II. 

ASK, AND IT SHALL BE GIVEN YOU. Luke XI. 9. 

I cannot behold a person who doubts or disbelieves the truth 
of Christianity, without feeling drawn towards that person with a 
tender interest, as if he were my brother or dear friend. My heart 
is linked to his by an irresistible sympathy. Should this appear 
mysterious, I can easily explain the mystery. I have been in the 
same situation myself. I "know the heart" of an unbeliever ; his 
doubts, his objections, his disgusts, have all passed through my 
own mind. I enter into every particular of his feelings. If he is 
a sincere doubter — I mean, if he really desires to find out the truth, 
I can comprehend all the agony of suspense, the horror of ap- 
proaching eternity in the dark, which he now experiences, and 
which none but those who have felt can figure to themselves, even 
in idea. But my sympathy with such a doubter is also one of glad 
anticipation. I enter into his future feelings, and rejoice in the 
light and peace which are certainly prepared for him. though now 
they are hid from his eyes. I know that " an understanding shall 
one day be given him, that he may know him that is true." " If 
any man wishes to do the will of God, he shall know of the doc- 
trine, whether it be true or whether Jesus Christ spake of himself."* 
Of this I am assured, both because it is God's promise, and because 
He has fulfilled that promise to me. " He has brought me out of 
the horrible abyss of doubt and unbelief, and set my foot upon a 
rock, and established my goings." And O that while I endeavor 
to speak of His goodness towards me, "many may see it, and fear, 
and put their trust in the Lord !"t 

I thank my God that I have been permitted, by bitter experience, 
to enter into this growing calamity of my fellow-men. Not only 
have the doctrines of Christianity been stamped upon my soul with 
a certainty greatly enhanced by the strict and suspicious scrutiny, 
to which they have every one been subjected, but an intenseness is 
added to my prayers, and a liveliness to my hopes, for this class of 
wanderers from God, which nothing but a fellowship in sin and 
* John vii. 17. t See Psalm xl. 1—3. 



248 THE TEST OF TRUTH. 

suffering could have produced. I can spread their miserable case 
before the Lord, with the happy conviction, that the same power 
which was displayed on my behalf, is ready to be stretched out on 
theirs. And when unbelief whispers — Can these men be brought 
to the knowledge of the truth? my very soul burns within me, as 
I appeal to my own experience, that nothing is too hard for the 
Lord. May the Lord my God guide my heart and my pen, whilst 
I attempt to delineate the process by which " he called me out of 
darkness into his marvellous light !" 

My chief aim is to demonstrate the success which will invariably 
follow a sincere and candid application of the " Test of Truth." 
If I can persuade others to try the same method, I shall have gain- 
ed my point. I seek not to answer objections. They are innume- 
rable as are the turnings and windings of the human heart. Even 
with those who are sincere in their search after truth, the most 
trivial of these objections, though confuted again and again, will 
present itself with renewed difficulty. The source of doubts and 
objections must be dried up. The "evil heart of unbelief" must 
be removed. He who will make trial of the ' ; Test of Truth" shall 
have a ready answer to all objections. He shall know by his own 
experience that every word of the Bible is true. 

To you, doubters and unbelievers of every description, I address 
myself. Many of you will esteem me a fool for my pains. I am 
content that you should think thus of me, so long as the wisdom of 
God is foolishness in your eyes. But God often ''chooses the foolish 
things of this world to confound the wise." This emboldens me 
to hope, that, if you will give me a candid and patient hearing, I 
may, with his blessing, be able to suggest some reflections which 
may prove useful to you. As God has opened my understanding, 
so I believe that he is able and willing to open yours. If once he 
shines into your hearts, how will unbelief, and pride, and prejudice, 
give way before the brightness of his presence ! How joyfully will 
you submit to those deep counsels of God, which you now cast from 
you with scorn ! I did not learn them of myself, neither can you. 
'• Flesh and blood cannot reveal them unto you ;" but my Father 
and your Father which is in heaven both can and will, if you de- 
sire it of him. I look with confidence on your behalf to Him, 
whose office it is to " lead the blind by a way that they knew not ; 
to make darkness light before them, and crooked paths straight."* 

From a very early age, my mind had been deeply impressed 
with a sense of the importance of religion. I knew something, not 
only of the form, but. as I thought, of the spirit of prayer. With 
a very indistinct view of many of the doctrines of Christianity, I 
aimed to do all my duties in sincerity, and without any consider- 
able external declension during the greater part of my childhood, 
and the commencement of a riper age. 

Nor can I now speak decidedly as to the time or manner, in 
which a kind of careless stupidity about every thing connected 

* Isaiah xlii. 16. 



THE TEST OP TRUTH. 249 

with religion began to steal over my soul. When this first became 
perceptible, it occasioned me great uneasiness. But I soon forgot 
it in the studies and vanities incident to my age. Ere long, I had 
learned to live " without God in the world," — to shut him out of 
all my thoughts. Pride and self-love, which had, I doubt not, long 
been secretly cherished, now became the motives — the allowed and 
cherished motives — of all my actions. My former feelings were 
at first remembered as an indistinct dream, then erased from my 
memory. It may appear strange, that one Avho had ever tasted 
in any degree of the power of religion, could so soon cast off its in- 
fluence ; for all this was effected in the space of a few months. It 
is strange ; and it affords a proof of the strange depravity of the 
human heart, when left to its own workings. Yet as this book 
may come under the eye of some who have fallen in the same 
manner, I will, for their sakes, endeavor briefly to trace the origin 
of my declension. Similar causes may have operated in producing 
theirs. 

1 think that I had no sufficient view of the nature and univer- 
sality of sin. The sin of particular actions and thoughts would 
often affect me very deeply. But I had little idea of the general 
sinfulness of my nature, and of my own utter helplessness ; or at 
least that idea had some time been growing very indistinct. In 
consequence, I set my guard, as it were, against this or that par- 
ticular sin, instead of taking the whole body of sin to God to be sub- 
dued and destroyed. I am inclined to believe that other young 
persons besides myself, have derived injury from some parts of a 
work, which has, on the whole, been eminently useful; I mean 
Doddridge's " Rise and Progress of Religion in the Soul." I had 
read in that work, long before the period of my thorough declen- 
sion, an earnest recommendation to the young convert to enter into 
a solemn covenant with God by a written form or dedication. I 
drew up an instrument of this kind, and fancied I had bound my- 
self to God's service in such a way that I could now never forsake 
him. But when I found myself daily coming short of the resolu- 
tions I had made, I began to be filled with a kind of slavish dread 
of God. I could no longer come before him as his child. I felt as 
if I had, by breaking my own voluntary covenant, dissolved or weak- 
ened the bond which united me to him. Again and again I sought 
his presence, and with tears renewed my engagements ; but every 
renewal of this formal dedication was made under circumstances 
of fresh discouragements, and with diminished confidence in the 
strength of Christ to carry me through the performance of it. 
Thus I gradually declined from the law of liberty into the spirit of 
bondage and fear. I believe that these ineffectual struggles paved 
the way for my apparently sudden and lamentable dereliction. 
Whenever self-dependence creeps in, there is reason to expect that 
we shall be left to discover, that self is a broken reed, which can 
but pierce and betray the hand that trusts to it for support. 

But I purposely hasten over this period, the mention of which 



250 THE TEST OF TRUTH. 



«*.! 



was necessary to throw some light over the future part of my nar- 
rative. The state of things I have described, could not last long. 
I became dissatisfied with the pleasures and pursuits in which I 
had promised myself so much gratification, and began again to 
wish to turn to religion for comfort. But alas ! I had no longer a 
religion. I had refused to give glory unto the Lord my God ; 
now " my feet" were left to "stumble upon the dark mountains ;" 
I had forsaken the Rock of my Strength. I was -now to try the 
firmness of my own sandy foundation. 

The doctrine of the divinity of Christ had before been occasion- 
ally a source of doubt and perplexity to me. It now became odious 
to my proud heart, and utterly shocking to my carnal reason. To 
satisfy myself on this point, I examined the Bible again and again. 
The result was an entire conviction, that if there were any truth in 
the Bible, Jesus Christ was the self-existent Jehovah. But so 
great was the difficulty I had in consenting to this doctrince, that 
I immediately began to doubt whether there were any truth in the 
Bible. I suspected that a system of religion which involved such 
apparent absurdities, could not possibly come from God. Deter- 
mined to sift the matter to the utmost, I eagerly acquainted my- 
self with the arguments for and against Christianity. My under- 
standing was convinced that the Scriptures were Divine. But 
my heart refused to receive the conviction. I was unwilling to 
believe. The more my reason was compelled to assent to their 
truths, the more I secretly disliked the doctrines of the Bible. 

At length I resolved for the present to lay aside the subject alto- 
gether. I persuaded myself, that there must be many flaws in the 
evidence for so strange a history, and that, if I had not as yet 
penetration to discover those flaws, it was only on account of my 
youth, and the immaturity of my reasoning powers. It may be 
thought that my former religious sentiments would leave behind 
them a relish and inclination for the tenets of Christianity. On 
the contrary, they seem to form a great, an insuperable obstacle. 
It is evident, thought I, that I have hitherto been living under the 
unresisted dominion of prejudice. These opinions were imbibed 
before I could possibly form any judgment upon their truth or 
falsehood. I have ever since blindly submitted to their guidance; 
endeavoring to feel or to fancy all that the advocates of enthusiasm 
told me I ought to feel. I must guard against this bias, which 
my early associations have induced, from the very same cause 
I should probably in another country have stood forth the zealous 
worshipper of Brahma, or the furious disciple of Mohammed. Thus 
I reason with myself. Alas ! I knew not then, that the secret, yet 
determined bias of my heart was against Christianity. 1 had for- 
gotten that " the carnal mind is enmity against God." 

I looked then upon my former devotion as the dream of an idle 
superstition. This circumstance was perpetually recurring to my 
memory, and redoubled my suspicions of the creed in which I had 
been brought up ; so that, humanly speaking, there was no sys- 



THE TEST OF TRUTH. 251 

tern of religion, which had so little hope of a candid examination 
from me as the Bible. I will not at least be the slave of prejudice. 
I wilt not wear these trammels merely because they were imposed 
upon me in my childhood. I will think and examine for myself. 

The following considerations restrained me from communicating 
my perplexity to a single being. In the first place, I thought that 
to whomsoever I might open my mind on the subject, they would 
not fail to endeavor to bias me one way or the other. In the next, 
as I was not quite sure that the Scriptures were false, I feared to be 
the means of raising or confirming doubts in the minds of any other 
person, lest I should ultimately discover that I had been fighting 
against God. I therefore resolved to keep my own counsel ; to ex- 
hibit, for the present, no outward difference of conduct : only avoid- 
ing, as much as possible, the discussion of religious subjects. In 
the meantime I determined to devote myself to those studies, which 
tend most eminently to invigorate the reasoning faculties, and give 
to the mind a habit of sound thinking and correct j udgment. Thus 
I hoped some future day to renew the examination, take a clearer 
view of things, and effectually guard against being made the dupe 
of a " cunningly-devised fable."' Vain and presumptous fool ! I 
had yet to learn that, " the wisdom of this world is foolishness with 
God;" and that man cannot, by " his own unassisted searching, 
find out the Almighty to perfection."* Yet, even in this circum- 
stance, I would gratefully recognize the wisdom and goodness that 
have followed me all my lifelong; for though my studies were 
now but an additional snare to me, yet they afterward, under God's 
blessing, were of considerable use to me in my researches after 
truth : or rather in enabling me to detect the fallacies which had 
misled me. But, at present, 1 was trusting in them ; and how 
could they be otherwise than a curse to me ? 

These abstruse pursuits had an effect on my mind which I had 
not anticipated ; but which, at the time, occasioned me little regret. 
I began to delight in them so much for their own sake, that they 
withdrew my mind altogether from the grand subject of my inquiry. 
Instead of using them as a preparative for future examination, I 
fled to them as a refuge from the busy speculations which had so 
long tormented me. I buried thought in them, as the drunkard 
buries it in his cups : not that I could, at all times, shut out serious 
reflection. These fits of mental intoxication had their intervals; 
and bitter intervals they were. But I pacified conscience with the 
plea, that I was only laying aside inquiry to resume it under more 
favorable circumstances. When I should deem myself fit for the 
momentous scrutiny, was a point reserved for decision at some in- 
definite period. On one or two occasions, I experienced a return of 
religious feeling ; and felt inclined to submit, though with the tem- 
per of a slave rather than of a child, to the yoke of the Gospel. 
But at these times, a temporary dread of consequences, or that un- 
definable softness of mind which affliction induces, operated much 
* See 1 Cor. iii. 19. Job. xi. 7. 



252 THE TEST OF TRUTH. 

more than any heart-felt conviction of the truth. I sought to ap- 
pease conscience by doing many things. I was busy, but not devo- 
tional : and my fit of ill-judged zeal soon evaporated. 

With the exception of these transient interruptions, I continued 
this course for many months ; but at length God in mercy arrested 
my downward progress : and the reflections of a few hours pro- 
duced a total revolution in my views and desires, though I was yet 
to wait a long time ere I arrived at the knowledge t>f the truth. I 
had been looking out on the starry heavens ; and from the consid- 
eration of these wondrous luminaries, was naturally led to reflect 
on the immense stretch of intellect, by which man has been ena- 
bled to make them the objects of his knowledge ; to measure the 
distances, the orbits, the circumferences of the planets ; to trace the 
eccentric path of the comet, and foretell the period of its return. 
In an instant — with the rapidity, but not with the transientness, of 
the lightning's flash — the thought broke in upon me — " What sig- 
nifies the knowledge of all these things, so long as pia?i knows 
not God who made him /" 

I had never sunk so low in the scale of being, as to entertain a 
suspicion that I could exist without some great Intelligent Cause 
and supporter of my existence ; and yet the conviction that there 
was a God, now seemed to flash upon me for the first time. It 
was as though I had gotten a new idea, and a new sense to per- 
ceive it by ; and this idea was so tremendously awful and important 
that it well nigh overwhelmed me. The amazing folly and brutish 
stupidity of mankind, and of myself in particular, in taking pains to 
acquaint ourselves with the works of God, and yet crawling on in 
contented ignorance of God himself, appeared so utterly shocking to 
common sense and common decency, that I could scarcely believe my 
own existence in such a world, and amongst such a race of fellow- 
madmen, to be any thing more than a frightful dream. At first, I 
could only behold the folly, narrowness, and meanness of my conduct. 
To have loved and sought what is beautiful in the creature, and 
yet not to have cared to be acquainted with the Original, the Foun- 
tain-head of beauty — the Mind, from whence every form of loveli- 
ness emanated, and which must itself be the perfection of beauty : 
to have admired the grand and sublime, without casting a thought 
upon Him whose mind is the birthplace of sublimity and gran- 
deur : to have dwelt with rapture on the wisdom of my fellow- 
creatures, without seeking to know him who gave them this gene- 
ral wisdom, as a little drop out of the infinite ocean : to have ex- 
amined and pored upon the workings of my own intellect, without 
inquiring aften>the Father of intellects — " the God of the spirits of 
all flesh :" and to have admired the exquisite formation of the body 
without asking by whom it was " so fearfully and wonderfully 
made : : ' to have forgotten the Giver in his gifts — the Creator in a 
minute portion of his works : to have embraced the shadow, and 
rejected the substance : idolized the copy, and despised the origi- 
nal ; provided for time, and neglected eternity ! — Could a creature 



THE TEST OP TRUTH. 253 

so grovelling, so alive to all that is petty and mean, and so wrapped 
in a dull and senseless indifference to all that is great and worthy — 
could this creature be styled a rational, a thinking being? And 
was this man, in whose exalted intelligence I had but now been 
glorifying ? Oh, far more gross than the brutes which perish ! For 
the " very ox knovveth his owner, and the ass his master's crib ;" 
but man hath an owner — a master — a Creator ; and he knows 
nothing about Him ! and he is content to know nothing about Him ! 
If the works of creation be so beautiful and glorious, how surpass- 
ing in beauty and glory must be the God of creation ! The mind 
which created my mind, and myriads of other minds — and which, 
still unexhausted, is ready to produce myriads more — is this mind 
worth knowing? or is it not worth knowing? or rather, who but an 
idiot would care greatly about knowing any thing else ? How low, 
how impertinent, how wide of the purposes, are the pretended dis- 
sertations of men upon truth, and wisdom, and knowledge ? Why 
do they not seek truth and wisdom and knowledge in Him in 
whom they all centre ? Why seek them in the little streamlets of 
the world, when they might go to the Ocean, the Fountain, the 
Original? Do men know that there is a God ? Have they the 
slightest suspicion of the fact? Can they know, and not care? 
Can they suspect, and not lay all things aside till they have ascer- 
tained? Can they think or talk of any thing else, so long as this 
point remains undecided? 

But what have I myself been about all this time? How is it 
that I am but now beginning to ask — " Where is God my Maker?" 
I feel my want of God as though it were a new thing ; as though 
I might not have known all along, that this was the great, the only 
want of a rational creature. It seems as if a thick mist had passed 
from before my eyes ; as if, after a long and dreadful madness, I 
were just restored to sanity. And surely it must be thus. I have 
been laboring under a madness, a delusion : now I am awakened 
to a perception of the object of my existence. God is the object of 
my existence. There is nothing worth knowing, there is nothing 
worth caring for, but God. O that I knew how to find out God ! 

But while I was thus looking back with amazement at the folly 
of my conduct, another and a more appalling reflection came to deep- 
en my perplexity. This was the wickedness of my conduct. My 
unnatural and monstrous ingratitude stared me in the face. If 
there be a God, then to endeavor to know and love and obey Him, 
must be not only the happiness, but the indispensable duty, of his 
creature. The ties of blood, the dearest relations and amities of 
life, must be a mere cobweb thread compared with the ties which 
ought to bind the soul formed, to Him who formed it — the relation- 
ship which must be naturally supposed to exist between the crea- 
ted, and the Creating Spirit. Have I not done my utmost to sever 
those ties? Have I loved God? Alas! how could I love an un- 
known being? But have I tried to know Him? What were my 
former endeavors ? Let me not mock God by calling them endea- 



254 THE TEST OF TRUTH. 

vors. They deserve not to be once named as the act of a soul as- 
piring after its God. My life should have been one continued act 
of obedience and thankfulness ; but I have scarcely thought of 
inquiring into his commands, or of reflecting upon his mercies. 
The true object, and motive, and centre of my soul must certainly 
be the love of my Creator. But I have in some way or other lost 
sight of this, and found out for myself an object, a motive, a cen- 
tre, altogether sordid and abominable, and this is no other than the 
love of self. If I have never broken out into any open wicked- 
ness; if I have kept up a tolerably correct and amiable appearance 
to my friends, it has been solely owing (at least for many months 
past,) to a sense of shame, or an inordinate self-esteem. This 
taught me to put on a fair and decent outside ; but within all was 
hollowness. The inward abominations of my heart have been 
indulged without a scruple. I have drank up heart-\n'\qu\ty like 
water. If I have hitherto escaped the reproaches of an accusing 
conscience, it has been because this same principle of self, while it 
rendered me exceedingly sharp sighted to the defects of others, 
blinded me to my own. 

I now clearly perceived two things ; that sin was the cause of all 
the misery in the world ; and that the essence of sin, however dif- 
ferent in kind or degree, was the same, and consisted in a general 
habit of aversenessor alienation from the great Author of our being. 
Moreover, I saw that this sin pervaded every particle of our natures 
and every moment of our lives. The mere moralist appeared to 
me the most daring sinner, the most senseless invertor of things. 
For he presumes to boast of his performance of the little duties of 
life, while the great duty, the one duty, is left out of the account. 
How ridiculous to imagine that we can be good parents, children, 
subjects, when we are not good creatures ! This is to suppose that 
a watch will go well, when the main-spring is broken ; or a stream 
flow, when its source is dried up. Now, the sins of my life seemed 
to pass in review before me. I perceived that their peculiar malig- 
nity consisted in this — that they proceeded from a soul regardless 
of its Maker. Let what would be the action, enmity to God was 
the sin of it. My acts of unkindness and neglect to my fellow- 
men, struck me as so many demonstrations of despite or indiffer- 
ence to Him who gave them being. It was not as they were my 
fellow r -creatures, but as they were His creatures, that I was bound 
to love them, and bear with them, and do them good. Had I loved 
the Creator, my love to his creatures would have been a matter of 
course, "Against Thee, Thee only, have I sinned!"* Against 
Thee, my Maker, my Preserver, my benevolent Friend, my tender 
Father ! Thou hast made me, and clothed me, and fed me, and 
given me a heart to love, a soul to think, and a mind to under- 
stand : but I have not loved Thee, nor thought of Thee, nor known 
Thee ! What wonder if the malignity that was rankling in my 
heart towards Thee, should sometimes break out towards thine off- 

* Psalm li. 4. 



THE TEST OF TRUTH. 255 

spring ! for I now clearly perceive that I could never have disliked 
any thing- of Thine, had I not had a secret dislike to Thee. Of 
what good has my existence been to the world ? None, absolutely 
none. What has been the end of my actions ? To gratify self. 
Have I secured this end, paltry and miserable as I now perceive it 
to be? No, certainly; my experience up to this moment wrings 
from me trie bitter acknowledgment, that I have succeeded only 
in making myself miserable. What then is the reason of my fail- 
ure in the search after happiness ? What can it be but this, that 
God, the Essence and source of happiness, has been left out of my 
system ? God alone is sufficient to fill and satisfy the soul which 
he has made ; and I am destitute and empty of God. 

But judging of this great Being by the indications and glimmer- 
ings of the reason which he has lighted up within me, is it possible 
for a moment to entertain the thought that he can behold with 
complacency a creature like myself? Reason teaches me that he 
is just ; otherwise how could he govern the world, which his con- 
summate wisdom has created? If he be just, shall he not punish 
one who has lived in the neglect of the most obvious and indispen- 
sable obligations to him? My ignorance of Him is no excuse; for 
conscience witnesses that it has been in some measure a contented 
ignorance. I have not taken half the pains to know God that I 
have taken to know objects of trifling importance. My utmost 
efforts and desires have been so utterly incommensurate, I will not 
say, with the worthiness of the object (for that is past my con- 
ception), but even with the faint and imperfect ideas which I might 
have formed of its worthiness, that to plead them in excuse would 
be the highest aggravation of my crimes. If then justice be one 
of God's attributes, that attribute must be engaged to punish any 
unnatural attempt to banish Him from his own creation ; to de- 
pose Him from his natural supremacy over my heart. Nor can 
I hope to escape with a slight punishment. — Justice consists, not 
only in awarding retribution, but in suiting it to the nature and 
degree of the offence. Mine is an infinite offence ; committed 
against an infinite Being, to whom I was bound by infinite obliga- 
tions. Shall not the retribution be infinite ? 

Besides, I have only to open my eyes, and look on what 
passes before them every day, to behold manifest tokens of the 
indignation of God against a " world that iieth in wickedness." 
Has he not hidden himself from our knowledge? Are we not 
all abandoned to a sort of natural blindness and ignorance of 
all that pertains to him, and can there be a more decisive in- 
dication of his displeasure? This earth, — who can help perceiv- 
ing, that it lies under circumstances of banishment and aliena- 
tion from its Creator? Would God form beings capable of know- 
ing him, and then leave them in ignorance of him, unless they 
had in some way or other forfeited his favor? Do not the va- 
rious contradictory religions, with which the world is filled, prove 
it to be in a state of the grossest ignorance and uncertainty about 



256 THE TEST OF TRUTH. 

God? What are all the infirmities and diseases which attack 
mankind, but a proof that sin, besides having ruined and de- 
based the soul, has deranged and withered the body ? What are 
all the fierce altercations and demoniac passions which desolate 
the earth, and make it like hell, but a manifestation of the most 
just vengeance of God, which has left us to wreak our quarrel 
with him upon one another, so that one half of the human race 
seems to be made for the scourge and executioners of the other 
half? What shall we say of death itself, but that it demon- 
strates our whole substance to be so contaminated, that it must 
be taken to pieces, and built up afresh, before it can be purged 
from the deadly contagion ? Add to this, that the ordinary com- 
merce and discourse of men prove them to have an internal con- 
sciousness that all is not right between God and their souls. 
When a hypocrite would invest himself with the semblance of 
religion, does it ever occur to him to put on an air of cheerful- 
ness and hilarity 1 Does not the very inflection of his voice be- 
come whining and dolorous, as if that were the only tone suited 
to the occasion? Whence is this, but to accommodate himself 
to the general idea which men have of religion, that it is a burden- 
some and melancholy thing? To what cause shall we attribute 
the almost universal prevalence of sacrifices in the heathen world? 
Whence could men derive the idea of propitiating God's favor by 
the slaughter of an innocent animal ? Does not this custom im- 
ply the idea of an offended God? Does it not originate in a hidden 
sense of sin- — in those secret gnawings of conscience which exist 
in the breast of every human being, and which lead them to think 
of God as an angry God? as One whom it is necessary, by some 
means, to reconcile and appease? 

But we may find ample proof of this fact, without going out 
of Christian countries ; or even out of the limited circle of our 
own friends. What occasions the prevalent idea that religion is 
a melancholy thing — incompatible with youth and good spirits — a 
subject of too gloomy a cast to be admitted into general conversa- 
tion ? Who has not witnessed the dead silence, the air of uneasi- 
ness and constraint, which the introduction of a serious reflection 
will sometimes spread over a whole company ? What a woful 
interruption to their hilarity ! Politeness itself will scarcely re- 
strain a contemptuous smile, or a bitter sarcasm, at the expense of 
the meddler who ventured to obtrude the offensive and ill-timed 
observation. He is directly marked as not one of them, ; and should 
he again attempt to introduce the subject, he will be regarded, in 
every festive society, as an intruder. But, if we were satisfied 
that there was peace between us and God, the mention of re- 
ligion could never be offensive or ill-timed — because religion would 
then be nothing but the continual expression of mirth and glad- 
ness, — the chosen and ever-pleasing topic of our most joyous mo- 
ments. 

I have thrown my reflections into this brief order, without at- 



THE TEST OF TRUTH. 257 

tempting- to follow them out exactly as they occurred to me ; which, 
at this distance of time would be impossible. They darted in upon 
my mind — first one, and then another, and sometimes many of 
them together, with a rapidity and force, which has made me 
since wonder that I retained the perfect possession of my senses ; 
and yet with so much clearness, that the substance of them is now 
impressed on my memory with the distinctness of facts, rather 
than of thoughts. Nor can I say, whether this train of thought 
was the work of one night ; for the same reflections pursued me 
with little alteration for many days. These, then, with many con- 
siderations of a similar nature, which I cannot now so distinctly 
recollect, but particularly the continual sense of my own gross ig- 
norance and enormous corruption, filled me with the deepest dis- 
tress ; and compelled me to feel, to my great discomfort, that there 
was a separation — a quarrel between God and his creature. I 
found, in my heart, a contrariety to Him which I was unable to re- 
press. Again, I asked myself — how shall I, a miserable reptile, 
sustain my controversy with the Omnipotent? Or stay His aveng- 
ing arm, which is ready to visit on me the whole weight of His 
just indignation? If I, who am accustomed to wickedness, and 
hardened in it, yet know enough of what is right to abhor and de- 
spise myself; in what light must 1 appear to his all-holy and un- 
clouded judgment? Put the case now — that He should be willing 
without satisfaction required, to pass over my offences, to forgive 
me for what my own conscience (planted by Him) condemns me. 
What would be the consequences of this clemency ? I should no 
longer reverence or esteem Him: ceasing to be just, He would 
cease to be God in my eyes. I can no more suppose God without 
justice, than I can suppose man without a soul. This attribute is 
essential to His character as Governor of the universe. I should 
despise a fellow-creature, who should govern so unjustly and weakly, 
as to suffer criminals to escape without paying the penalty due to 
their crimes. Such a one's laws would be trampled upon, and his 
person treated with as little regard, as was paid to the fabled Log 
sent down by Jupiter. 

Even then — upon the monstrous supposition that God, the just 
God, who has in so many ways manifested His indignation against 
sin, could, in my favor, be induced to slacken the reins of his gov- 
ernment, and throw away the sceptre of his justice — I should gain 
nothing by this, but the galling sensation of being under the yoke 
of One not greatly better than myself, or at least quite incompetent 
to his high office as Judge of the whole earth. 

On the other hand — if God punishes me, I am involuntarily led 
to fear and hate Him. To love a being, whose glory is concerned 
in my destruction, is impossible. How shall I reconcile these two 
opposite ideas? — the justice and mercy of Him, who is at once my 
Governor and Father ! If God pardon my sins, he is not a Just 
God ; that is, He is no God at all. If he do not pardon sin, at 
least in those who desire to return to Him, this is contrary to what 

17 



258 THE TEST OP TRUTH. 

nature herself suggests to me of His goodness and mercy. Each 
alternative is unspeakably appalling. To have to do with a God 
who weakly swerves from the demands of justice ; or to be in the 
hands of One, who by letting justice have her perfect work, should 
shut the door of mercy upon mankind. Yet the former of these 
alternatives appeared to me incomparably the most dreadful ! I 
had, within these few hours, acquired such a perception of the beauty 
of holiness, that the thought of an unholy God was worse than 
hell to me. I felt that I had rather God should pour out on me all 
the vials of his wrath, than that, carried away by an unworthy 
softness and weakness, He should forgive, and thereby encourage 
sin : for sin appeared to me in so odious a light, that if it could not 
be purged out of God's universe without the destruction of mankind, 
who by sinning had deranged its order and defaced its beauty, my 
soul was almost ready to acquiesce in the general destruction, and 
to perish in it, so that the order and beauty of God's universe might 
be restored. To undergo eternal punishment was horrible indeed. 
To acknowledge an unholy God was scarcely less horrible ! 

Besides all this, I plainly perceived, that, supposing even there 
were any means of restoration to God's favor — I should be contin- 
ually falling from it again, unless a total change were wrought in 
my whole temper and disposition. I saw not how this change was 
to be effected. I had experienced so much of the weakness of my 
best resolutions, that had an offer of pardon been held out to me 
upon the condition of promising not to offend again, I should not 
have dared to make that promise. Sin had " separated between me 
and my God." This sin was not an act which I could lay aside — 
a habit which I could shake off; but it was a nature. How was 
I to change my nature? God, w r ho made me at first, could alone 
correct the dreadful disease, which had so mixed itself up with my 
whole constitution, that it seemed to form part of myself. But 
to this God — how should I apply? or what reason had I to hope 
that He would not leave me to the consequences of my own wilful 
rebellion ! 

In this dilemma it occurred to me, as a last expedient, to turn my 
attention once more to that despised book, which had been long laid 
aside as incapable of affording me the least relief. How different 
was the temper of my mind in which I now addressed myself to 
its perusal, from that which I had read it in the commencement of 
my disbelief of Christianity! I was no longer a proud sophist, tri- 
umphing in the strength and penetration of human reason, and in 
the comprehensiveness of human knowledge. The contemplation 
of my own ignorance, weakness, and wickedness, had laid my 
pride in the dust. My eyes were opened to view myself as I really 
was — depraved and blinded in my reason, judgment, and under- 
standing. And this is the process, which must take place in the 
soul of every man. before he can pursue the search after truth 
in a right spirit. He must esteem himself " a fool, that he may be 






THE TEST OF TRUTH. 259 

wise :"* not that he must part with any portion of his rational facul- 
ties ; but, having been a fool all his life long, he must be led to dis- 
cover and acknowledge his foolishness, before he can so appreciate 
wisdom, as to search for it with his whole heart. 

My attention was soon powerfully drawn by the promises which 
abound in the Bible, that God will reveal himself to all those who 
diligently seek him. When I read these, it struck me that the 
Bible itself offered an infallible test — more sure than all the argu- 
ments that ever were written for and against it, to prove whether 
it was indeed the Word of God or the word of man. To own the 
truth, I was at first startled by the unqualified nature of these 
promises. The authors of these books, if impostors — and which 1 
still inclined to believe them — had pledged themselves in such an 
unguarded manner, as must inevitably lead to their detection. Here 
is an engagement — or a pretended engagement on God's part, to 
perform a miracle in favor of anyone who chooses to ask it of Him. 
For what can be a greater miracle than to give the knowledge of 
himself to a soul that is ignorant of Him? This is the very es- 
sence and substance of all miracles. Other wonders and signs 
may be disputed. This must bring conviction. I cannot persuade 
myself that the Author of this Book will be able to redeem His 
pledge ; or to realize the expectations which he has so confidently 
held out. Nevertheless I can but make the experiment. I shall, 
at least, forever rid myself of whatever doubts I may have enter- 
tained respecting the origin of the Bible. " Ask, and it shall be 
given you ; seek, and ye shall find." " He shall give his Holy 
Spirit to them that ask Him." "Then ye shall seek me, and find 
me, when ye shall search after me with your whole heart."t Can 
words speak plainer ? Well, 1 will ask — I will seek ! If what I 
ask is given me ; if I find what I seek — what can I want more to 
convince me that the Bible is the Word of God? If what I ask 
is not given ! If I do not find what I seek — I may safely conclude 
that the Bible is a very awkwardly-contrived lie ; and, as such, I 
will cast it from me with contempt. Be this, however, as it may — 
I can lose nothing by making the trial; possibly I may gain much. 
Whether he who made this promise be God or man, his reasoning 
is full of judgment and good sense. For who is to give us the 
knowledge of God — if God himself either cannot, or will not give 
it to us ? Since " the father will not give his son a stone when he 
asks bread" — since evil men " know how to give good gifts to their 
children ;" how reasonable is the inference, that the good God must 
" know how to give good gifts unto His offspring !" I will apply to 
my unknown — my heavenly Father. I will ask Him to give me 
the knowledge of Himself. Will he mock me with a delusion? 
Will he present me with <; a scorpion" when I " ask Him for bread ?" 
I will implore Him to teach me to believe what is right concerning 
Him. Supposing the Bible account of Him to be wrong, will he 
thrust this wrong belief upon me, when I am asking Him for a 

* See 1 Cor. iii. 18. t Luke xi - 9—13. Je r- xxix. 13. 



260 THE TEST OF TRUTH. 

right one ? Is He indeed so unlike a parent ? It was He that 
fashioned a father's heart, and implanted a father's feelings. Is it 
too much to suppose that He himself has the heart — the feelings of 
a father ? 

The sense of my guilt held me back for a time. I feared that 
the great Being, whom I was about to address, would not listen to 
the prayer of one so worthless ; but I reflected, that a state of sub- 
mission and desire could not be so displeasing to Him, as one of 
carelessness and rebellion. To lay myself low at his feet with the 
deepest prostration, and to implore mercy, was all that I could do 
in my present ignorance ; and since mine was no longer a wilful 
ignorance, I hoped that Infinite Benevolence might in time extri- 
cate me from it. 

One thing was sufficiently clear — man was not able to help me 
to what I wanted. God alone was able to assist me. It remained 
for me to try whether he were ivilling to save a soul that was per- 
ishing for u lack of knowledge." 

Impelled by these reflections, fearful and uncertain, but with un- 
controllable — unutterable longings, I directed my supplications to 
the " unknown God" O my Redeemer ! the first breathings of 
my soul were not uttered in thy name. I rushed into the presence 
of my Judge, without a Mediator: but, doubtless, even then thy 
comeliness was thrown over the deformity of my soul, and the eye 
of my Father beheld me with pity for Thy dear sake ! My prayer 
ascended up to heaven fragrant with the incense of thy merits — 
though the poor wretch who offered it, thought to please God by 
leaving Thee out of it ! Let thy goodness and mercy to me en- 
courage other poor ignorant souls, who are groping their way to 
God in the dark, not to desist from the search till they have found 
Him ; and having found Him, they will find Thee — and having 
found Thee, they will hold Thee fast ; or rather, Thou wilt hold 
them fast to all eternity ! 

Thus I set my face in good earnest, to seek the Lord, my God. 
Every other employment was not only laid aside, but forgotten. I 
confessed to Him, that I was unworthy of the least of His favors 
which he had heaped upon me : yet I ventured to tell Him. that all 
these were of no value in my eyes, except as they encouraged me 
to hope for some further manifestation of his goodness. O God ! 
(I dared not say, my God — the word died upon my unhallowed 
lips) — Thou hast given me a wondrous power of knowing ; but 
there is but one thing worth knowing ; and of that I am ignorant — 
I would know Thee. My capacity of knowledge is no better than 
a curse to me, while the only thing worthy to satisfy that capacity 
is hid from me. Thou — Thou art the true object of knowledge ! 

let me know Thee — or let me know nothing ! Thou hast given 
me a power of loving; but in vain I look round for something to 
love. Thou canst fill my heart — and none but Thou. But Thee 

1 cannot find : and there is some wretched principle within me 
which will not let me love Thee. O Thou, who art all lovely, re- 



THE TEST OF TRUTH. 

Btore me to the natural perception of a creature ! Bring back ray 
alienated affections to their true centre — that I may see and love 
Him who gave me birth. Thou hast made me capable of bound- 
less longings and desires — but the whole earth would not satisfy 
those longings ; no, nor the whole universe, unless I could find 
Thee in it. Oh ! why didst thou put within me such high and 
restless aspirings, if I was indeed made for so low an end as to live 
and die without knowing Thee ? Thou gavest me the appetite of 
hunger — and lo ! ever since I was born, Thou hast supplied me 
with food to satisfy that hunger. Dost Thou care for the wants 
of the body ? and wilt thou not provide for the wants of the soul ? 
Now my soul hungers, which it would never have done, hadst not 
Thou formed it capable of spiritual appetites. Wilt not Thou give 
the food that must satisfy my soul ? Will the God, whose good- 
ness prevents every bodily want, leave me to perish in my spirit- 
ual necessities? The power of thought — the ardent and ineffable 
breathings of my mind, are but so many aggravations of my mis- 
ery. The very light of reason only serves to make my darkness 
visible, to discover to me how low I am fallen ! These Thy great — 
Thy peculiar blessings, are just so many curses to me — so long as 
I am shut out from thy knowledge and love. I know that I am 
not worthy ; but nature whispers to me that thou art merciful. 
I see no way of becoming reconciled to thee ; but reason teaches 
me, that Thou may est be able to find out a way. though I cannot. 
Life is not life, unless I know the Giver of it. All the time that I 
have lived without Thee in the world, I seem to have been dead ; 
more senseless than a stock or stone — more brutish than the beasts 
which perish ! 

Such things as these I groaned out of the fulness of my heart ; for 
I was seldom able to speak. My deep self-abhorrence, and the in- 
expressible ardency of my desires, choked up the way to every out- 
ward expression of my feelings. I often lay prostrate on the ground 
for hours together — not from any superstitious preference of that 
attitude ; but because the sense of my own unfitness to come into 
God's presence quite overwhelmed me. I should have sunk into 
the earth, had that been possible ; so great was the prostration of 
soul occasioned by the perpetual consciousness that God was present, 
and that I was unworthy. 

In this manner I gave myself wholly up to seeking for my Crea- 
tor. For days and weeks, I however sought him apparently in vain. 
My blindness and uncertainty seemed to increase daily. I was 
often on the point of abandoning, in despair, an effort so unpromis- 
ing — and wished for death, as the only thing which could terminate 
my afflicting suspense; but then it occurred to me, that the Bible 
has nowhere promised an immediate answer to prayer. The ex- 
periment, therefore, was not a fair one — unless it was persevered 
in : nay, I recollected that so far from promising an immediate an- 
swer, it gives repeated intimations that we may perhaps have to 
wait a long time for the accomplishment of our desires. It warns 



262 THE TEST OF TRUTH. 

men that they must " tarry the Lord's leisure" — that " they must 
pray, and not faint :" # besides this, I could not deny, that God had 
long waited patiently for me, and borne with my careless uncon- 
cern. Tt was reasonable that I, in my turn, should wait patiently 
for God ; and not abandon the search, when perhaps a little fur- 
ther perseverance would end in the realization of my most san- 
guine wishes. I knew too, that I was in pursuit, of an object wor- 
thy of the intenseness of my desires ; and which, when found, 
would amply recompense any labor I might expend in seeking it. 
I therefore continued my entreaties, that God would graciously 
vouchsafe to open my understanding to know Him, and my heart 
to love Him as a rational creature ought to do. 

I waited not in vain. God at length revealed Himself to my 
understanding in a way that abundantly surpassed my expecta- 
tions — I say to my understanding ; for this was no rapturous 
trance of enthusiasm, but the sober and rational conviction of every 
faculty of my mind. I hope none of my readers will think that I 
attribute too much power, or too much benevolence to the Supreme 
Being, when I assert that He who first gave me understanding, did 
enlighten that understanding in a manner which I was sensible no 
efforts of my own could have done ; and which yet was so clear — 
so consistent — so satisfactory, that every former act of my reason, 
in comparison with this, seemed like the incoherent ravings of de- 
lirium ! If however, they doubt — let them try the experiment for 
themselves: nor let them suppose that this was a sudden flash of 
conviction — no, it was a process as collected and deliberate as that 
by which the mind first scrutinizes, and then embraces the propo- 
sitions of mathematical science. My eyes were opened to discern 
the glory and excellence of the Scriptures, and their amazing su- 
periority to every human composition. I perceived that they car- 
ried, within their own pages, a witness to their Divine Origin. Con- 
vinced by this internal evidence, I recognized in the Bible the reve- 
lation of God to bis fallen creatures. In this book alone, I saw per- 
fect justice and perfect mercy — perfect holiness and perfect clemen- 
cy, reconciled in a way worthy of the Diety ; and though I know 
that this internal evidence cannot be perceived but by those whose 
eyes God himself opens to behold the wondrous things out of his 
law; yet trusting that he will, in some instances, thus "confirm 
the word of his servant," I will endeavor to comprise, in as short a 
space as possible, the points which struck me as most worthy of ob- 
servation during this (to me) memorable perusal of the Sacred Ora- 
cles. Again I remind my readers, that the correctness of my asser- 
tions can only be proved by bringing them to the touchstone of 
Truth. If God did indeed teach me, he must be also willing to 
instruct them. Let them try whether he is able to keep this prom- 
ise : " Call unto me, and I will answer thee ; and show thee great 
and mighty things which thou knowest not !"t 

1. The character given of God in the Scriptures, appeared to me 
* Psalm xxvii. 14. Luke xviii. 1. t Jer. xxxiii. 3. 



THE TEST OP TRUTH. 

such, that no finite mind could have conceived or portrayed it. 
Here is nothing of the imperfection — the inconsistency — the little- 
ness of humanity. All is majesty and infinity! No one attri- 
bute obscures or encroaches upon another. Here — and here only, 
we have a God glorious in holiness — inflexible in justice — that will 
not look upon iniquity : and yet slow to anger and of tender mer- 
cy, justifying the ungodly, and teaching sinners in the way. Well 
and truly did the apostle describe the scope of the Gospel in these 
terms : " And this is the message we have heard of God, and de- 
clare unto you, that God is light ; and in Him is no darkness at 
all." No — there is no darkness in the Scripture representation of 
God ; but when men attempt to form conceptions of His character, 
for want of the comprehensive vision which so mighty a subject 
requires, they cannot look at one of His attributes without losing 
sight of another. Thus they can form some faint idea of His jus- 
tice, or of His mercy, separately: though even that is a justice and 
a mercy limited and defective like their own. But their narrow 
minds cannot grasp the United Idea ! They form some rude con- 
jectures of the separate parts ; but the mighty — consistent whole, is 
quite beyond their largest thought. Therefore it is that some fancy 
to themselves a God who is all justice, and no mercy : while far 
the greater part imagine Him to be all mercy and no justice : or, at 
least, fondly persuade themselves that he will put His justice by, 
whenever it happens to interfere with their convenience. God is 
merciful, deluded man ! but His mercy is not like thy mercy — it is 
neither a weak, nor an unholy principle : nor will it avail thee 
aught, if thou diest in thy sins ! 

Thus man cannot describe one of God's perfections without mar* 
ring another; but the Scripture takes them all into the account. 
His justice — His mercy — His holiness — His compassion, all meet in 
perfect unison, and their jarring claims are sweetly reconciled in 
Christ Jesus. This was exactly what I wanted, but had scarcely 
hoped to find. This was the God whom I had longed to call " my 
God !" Now I could say, " my God !" Now I could call Him 
" Father and Friend !" Now I had a forgiveness extended to me, 
which, far from involving the horrible compromise of God's holi- 
ness, which I had fancied necessary before He could pardon me, 
was itself " the beauty of holiness :" — was such a manifestation of 
God's sanctity and of His hatred to sin, that in the very act of 
showing mercy, His justice and His holiness were most gloriously 
vindicated. 

2. The character of Jesus caused me fresh transports of admira- 
tion every time I contemplated it. How many writers have wearied 
themselves in the attempt to describe a perfect character ! and how 
miserably have they all failed ! Now here was an undertaking ten 
thousand times more arduous : so bold that the very conception of 
it could scarcely have entered into the limited capacity of man. It 
was no less than this — to delineate the character of One who should 



264 THE TEST OF TRUTH. 

be at once "perfect man and perfect God" — "God manifest in the 
flesh." 

And how do they attempt to embody this magnificent concep- 
tion? What splendid description shall convey to us the boundless 
ideas, or astound us into a belief of its reality '! What learned defi- 
nitions shall mark the points of the character they have chosen to 
portray ? Do they seek to dazzle us by placing their hero in an 
exalted rank, and surrounding him with every circumstance of 
magnificence ? Do they make him run a long career of glory, 
adorned with the highest advantages of honor, valor and learning? 
duite the contrary. They give us the very plain and simple his- 
tory of a man who passed his life in a poor and mean condition, 
surrounded by enemies who spared no pains to crush and disgrace 
him, who would have been overjoyed to discern the least defect in 
his extraordinary character. He is born in a manger ; educated as 
the carpenter's son ; lives in poverty and contempt as an itinerant 
preacher ; and dies an infamous death between two thieves. The 
ignominy of his life and death, the low esteem in which he should 
be held by all, were portrayed beforehand with so much exactness 
in the sacred books of the Jews (books confided to the care of the 
Jewish priests, his bitter enemies,) that many infidels have been 
converted to Christianity, by comparing the prophetic writings with 
the Gospel History ; and the Jewish Rabbins, unable to evade their 
force, have been constrained to prohibit the reading of one chapter 
in particular (Isaiah liii.) under the severest denunciations. The 
coincidence between the prophetic life and character of Jesus, and 
his real life and character, struck me forcibly. These were not 
prophecies of which it could be pleaded, that they were written after 
the events they described ; for not only have we certain proof to the 
contrary, but we know that the Jews would be very glad of such a 
plea, and yet they have never ventured to make it. Nor can it be 
said that the accomplishment was forced and strained to suit the 
prophecy ; for the most striking points of coincidence consist of 
facts over which an impostor could exercise no control, or traits of 
character which were very unlikely to have occurred to him. 
Again, supposing the Gospel to be an invention, here was another 
difficulty of no common magnitude which its authors had to en- 
counter. Not only had they to describe this perfect twofold char- 
acter, but to make it naturally fall in and accord with divers accounts 
scattered here and there through a series of books written at very 
different times, and in very different styles of description. Surely 
if the Gospel be a lie, it is the most ingenious lie that ever was in- 
vented, and its writers must have had longer and clearer heads than 
fall to the lot of impostors in our times. 

But to return. I scrutinized again and again every part of this 
divine character, represented with so much plainness, and under 
such unfavorable circumstances. But after all my scrutiny, I could 
not find, I will not say a fault, but not even so much as an incon- 
sistency in the character of Jesus. To describe a character with- 



THE TEST OP TRUTH. 265 

out any glaring defects, is a comparatively easy task; but to de- 
scribe one which should be consistent, in all its parts, appeared to 
me utterly impossible to a being so inconsistent as man. Especially 
a character so singular as this, whose distinguishing paints are di- 
rectly contrary to the distinguishing points of man's character in 
general. Like the Pharisees, (though, I trust, in a far different 
spirit,) I lay in wait to " catch Jesus in his words."* Often did I 
fancy that I had met with something at which I might reasonably 
be offended. But that Holy Spirit, who had already begun to take 
of the things of Jesus and show them unto me, always led me in 
the end to perceive that the offence was occasioned by my own 
gross ignorance and vilialed judgment of spiritual things. As each 
difficulty was successively cleared up, my admiration arose almost 
to ecstasy ; and my doubts w r ere lost in a deep and loving confi- 
dence, till at length, after many of these trials, I could, when any 
thing seemed strange to me, go to Jesus himself, and sitting down 
at his feet as a little child, expect from him a solution of the mys- 
tery. I no longer exclaimed, this is contrary to reason, I will not 
believe : — but, this surpasses my comprehension, I cannot under- 
stand ; Lord, teach thy foolish and ignorant creature what this 
means ! The more I studied this divine character, the more I grew 
up, as it were, into its holiness and simplicity, the more my under- 
standing was enabled to shake off those slavish and sinful preju- 
dices, which had hindered me from appreciating its excellence. 
Truly his " words were dearer to me than my necessary food."t 
He became unto me " wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctifica- 
tion, and redemption. "+ He was my " all in all." I did not want 
to have any knowledge, goodness or strength, independently of 
him. I had rather be " accepted in the beloved," than received 
(had that been possible) upon the score of my own merits. I had 
rather walk leaning on his arm, than have a stock of strength given 
me to perform the journey alone. To learn, as a fool, of Christ, 
this was better to me than to have the knowledge of an angel to 
find out things for myself. Nor is there any thing in all this con- 
trary to reason. For as the highest wisdom of a little child is to 
learn implicitly of its teacher ; so I, having found a teacher and 
guide, whose intelligence was above mine or the angel's, not as a 
man is above the child, but " as he who maketh a house is greater 
than the house." it was my business to learn implicitly of him, and 
to submit my mind to his, secure that I should thus attain the high- 
est end of a created being. 

But I turn back for a moment to the reflections which possessed 
me, when first the beauty, consistency and majesty of the charac- 
ter of Jesus began to be evident to my mind. I asked myself, 
Who had invented this character? A company of ignorant fisher- 
men? Or supposing we will not allow them to be the authors, still 
the language and style of the writings may prove to us, that they 
were the composition of unlearned men, incapable of any effort of 
* Mark xii. 13. f Job. xxiii. 12. %\ Cor. i. 30. 



266 THE TEST OF TRUTH. 

intellect beyond that required to tell a plain unvarnished tale. But 
grant even that they were men of learning and genius: still it ap- 
peared to me, that to believe the life and character of Jesus to be 
the invention of any merely human intellect, required a far greater 
stretch of credulity, than to believe that he was " God manifest in 
the flesh." Those indeed who can persuade themselves that this 
world and all its curiously contrived machinery were the work of 
a blind chance, may conclude that the character of Jesus was 
traced by a mere mortal pen. But those who attribute any thing 
to a divine power, must, we should thing, perceive in this, manifest 
tokens of a divine power. No intellect short of an infinite intellect 
could have conceived the mighty thought. No pen uninspired by 
that intellect could have embodied that thought in the life of an 
obscure individual. Were I to assure you, gentle reader, that the 
immortal work of Newton was composed by a child at the breast, 
you would smile at my simplicity. But I am ready to weep at the 
violence you offer to your reasoning faculties, when you can lay your 
hand upon the life of Christ, and pronounce that, to be the produc- 
tion of any human mind. Yet remembering that your reason is 
blinded by the deceitfulness of sin, and that I was once as blind as 
yourself, not even this excess of prejudice can damp my hopes re- 
specting you. I lift up my heart to God, who opens the blind eyes. 
In the meantime, though now you " see no beauty in Jesus that 
you should desire him/' yet I beseech you, for the sake of truth 
and candor, to give his character in the Bible your serious conside- 
ration. There is a divine power and excellency in it, which may 
find its way to your heart when you least expect it. And if ever 
" God shines in your heart, to give you the knowledge of the glory 
of God," that glory will be revealed to you " in the face of Jesus 
Christ."* 

3. The Scripture character of man struck me as differing ex- 
ceedingly from that given in any other book. It was evidently no 
portrait of his own painting. Every other book represents man 
more or less as he ought to be. The Bible alone depicts him as he 
really is. All the systems of all the philosophers ; all the religions 
of all nations, are founded upon the supposition, that the heart of 
man is not altogether corrupt, that a little mending and patching 
only are wanting to bring it to perfection. One lauds the dignity 
and rectitude of human nature. Another talks of the sincerity of 
our endeavors, and the efficacy of our resolutions. What say the 
Scriptures? "The heart of man is deceitful above all things, and 
desperately wicked. "t If you patch new cloth upon the old gar- 
ment, you will only make the rent worse.! Of our dignity they 
say, " the crown is fallen from our head : woe unto us, that we 
have sinned."§ Of our rectitude and sincerity, — " ye are estranged 
from the womb ; ye go astray as soon as ye are born, speaking 
lies." II Of our endeavors, — " without me ye can do nothing."!" Of 

* See 2 Cor. iv. 6. f Jer - xvii - 9 - $ See Matt - ir - l6 - 

§ Lam. v. 16. II Psalm lviii. 3. IT John xv. 5. 






THE TEST OF TRUTH. 267 

our resolutions,— " ye are not sufficient of yourselves to think any 
thing as of yourselves."* They stoop not to flatter the pride and 
vanity of man by false and hollow encouragements. They go to 
the root of the evil. They tell him the plain truth ; that he has 
neither rectitude to choose ; nor sincerity to love ; nor energy to re- 
solve ; nor strength to execute that which is good, "They are 
sottish children, and have not known me ; they are wise to do evil, 
but to do good they have no knowledge."'! What I had been led 
to discover of my own heart, corresponded with the declarations of 
Scripture, as exactly as when u a man beholdeth his natural face 
in a glass." I will say more. This book discovered to me so 
many new enormities of which I was before ignorant, that I could 
not help exclaiming at every page : Surely, He only who searcheth 
the heart could so accurately describe its dark and intricate move- 
ments ! Surely none but He who made man could know so well 
what was in man ! 

Now, in any case of bodily disease, it inconceivably enhances our 
confidence in' a physician, if, while he describes to us the symptoms 
of our case, we perceive that our feelings exactly tally with every 
part of his description : we indulge a reasonable hope, that he, 
who has so thoroughly acquainted himself with the symptoms of 
our complaint, will be able to suggest a remedy. Thus it was with 
my spiritual malady. I found every particular of my sufferings, 
my necessities, my blindness, obduracy and depravity of heart, laid 
down in the Bible with such extraordinary and felicitous precision 
of language, that from that time my own tvords seemed quite inade- 
quate to the description of my case. I could recollect none but Scrip- 
ture words, when I wanted to define my feelings : all other words 
seemed poor, feeble and unmeaning. As a person who has long 
been laboring under sensations which he is unable to describe, if 
he lights upon an exact delineation of them, will exclaim — - Ah ! 
that is exactly what I wanted to say ; only I could not find words 
to express it in" — so in reading the Scripture description of the sin 
and ignorance of man I was continually forced to cry out, "Yes — 
my experience is the very counterpart of this ! only it is expressed 
with a force and appropriateness, w T hich no language of mine could 
have reached." It will not appear wonderful, that, lighting upon 
this astonishing accurate definition of my wants and distresses, I 
should be disposed to give a very serious and attentive considera- 
tion to the remedy proposed for them. 

4. I was greatly struck by the Scripture account of the nature 
or essence of sin. Other codes and systems content themselves with 
reprobating a few of its exterior indications : the Bible goes straight 
to the heart, and drags its hidden motives to the light: other sys- 
tems make the essence of sin to consist in the violation of our 
duties to man; the Bible makes it consist in the violation of our 
duty to God. These speak of the neglect of human — or natural 
laws and rights ; the Bible allows of no law but the law of God— 
* Cor. iii. 5. f Jer. iv. 22. 



268 THE TEST OF TRUTH. 

no right but the right which God has in us as his creatures. It tells 
us that all sin is comprised in our alienation from Him in whom all 
subordinate duties and relations centre. "Thou shalt love the 
Lord thy God with all thine heart." This is the first and great 
commandment. u Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself," is the 
second ; like unto the first, dependent on it, naturally and necessa- 
rily flowing from it.* To violate the first and great command, this 
is sin. To violate the second is the inevitable consequence of 
breaking the first ; for no one ever yet hated his brother, who did 
not first hate God. " The carnal mind is enmity against God."t 
This is the deadly root whence every lesser abomination proceeds. 
All that human ingenuity has ever effected, has been to lop off 
some of the minor branches, to prune a few excrescences, but which 
have immediately sprouted forth with redoubled vigor. The Bible 
lays the axe to the root of the tree. The catalogue of our crimes 
always begins with this damning article, and is usually summed up 
in it — k ' In transgression and lying against the Lord, and departing 
from our God ;"+ this is the sum and substance of our offence. 
This separates between us and God : this has brought the curse 
into every one of our dwellings. Other sins are but the puny off- 
spring of this horrid and unnatural progenitor. 

The Bible statement is the only one in the least consonant with 
unbiassed reason and sound sense. For if there be a God at all, 
he must have a greater right in his creatures than any other being 
can possibly have. To serve and love him supremely must be that 
law, which alone deserves to be called the law of nature ; and if 
men universally love and delight in any thing else more than in 
him, they stand universally condemned of living in a state of con- 
trariety to the law of nature : that is, they frustrate the true end 
of their nature ; they are guilty of that unnatural dereliction from 
duty, which constitutes the essence and malignity of sin. 

5. The Scripture remedy for sin and all the evils it has brought 
in its train, was so consummately adapted to my necessities, that 
this circumstance would have alone sufficed to rivet my attention. 
Sensible that I was in a state of alienation from God, I was afraid 
of his just vengeance, and yet more afraid, that in pardoning sin 
he should prove a weak and unjust being like myself. If I rejected 
the idea of an angry God, an unholy God seemed my only alterna- 
tive. I saw not how infinite compassion itself could save me, but 
at the expense of infinite justice and purity. Those only who 
have known the agony of feeling themselves condemned by God 
and their own conscience, can comprehend the joy with which I 
hailed the glad tidings, "that God can be just and yet the Justifier 
of him who believeth in Jesus."§ My wretched and unnatural 
state with regard to God, consisted in three particulars. I was 
ignorant of God — averse from God — and afraid of God. Jesus 
Christ revealed the Father to me — took away the enmity — and 

* Matt. xxii. 37—39. t Rom. viii. 6. 

% Isaiah lix. 13. % Rom. iii. 25, 26. 



THE TEST OF TRUTH. 269 

opened a way of access with boldness and confidence. I under- 
stood how " God was in Christ, reconciling- the world unto himself, 
not imputing their trespasses unto them."* O the depth, the wis- 
dom, the harmony of my Father's counsels, as "the Spirit took of 
them" for Christ's sake, " and showed them unto me !" O the ex- 
ceeding glory and excellency of my Father's character, as I studied 
it in him, " who is the brightness of the Father's image, in whom 
dwelleth all the fulness in the Godhead bodily !"t Then I per- 
ceived how the doctrine of " the cross, while to some it is a stum- 
bling block, and to others foolishness, is nevertheless to those who 
are saved, the power of God and the wisdom of God."+ In the in- 
carnation, life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ, I beheld the 
love of God manifested, his law exalted, his justice satisfied, and 
my salvation complete. I knew by my own joyful experience, 
" that God has given unto us eternal life, and that this life is in his 
Son."§ 

Poor infidel, whoever thou art, my brother or sister in sin and 
misfortune ! cast not these pages from thee as the ravings of en- 
thusiasm. Scoff at them I know thou wilt, unless the Spirit of 
God arrest thy heart as he did mine. But remember that they are 
written by one who once held the same sentiments with thyself. 
Consider that so wonderful a revolution in these sentiments could 
not have been effected, and persisted in, without some reasons for 
such a change. I have told thee how I came to the knowledge of 
what I believe to be the truth. The experiment I made use of was 
simple and easy, and in my case conclusive. Would it not be more 
candid on thy part to try the same test, than to scoff at what thou 
hast not tried 'I All I ask, is, that when any thing I say appears 
mystical or extravagant, thou would'st try for thyself, whether a 
persevering use of " the Test of Truth" may not make it appear 
plain and reasonable. 

The grand difference which I found between the remedy offered 
by the Bible, and that of every other religion in the world, was this. 
They all hold out to us insufficient motives for action, and direct us 
to an insufficient source of strength. The motive of our virtue, is 
to be self-esteem or the applause of others. Our strength is to be 
derived from our own resolutions or reasonings The Bible, on the 
contrary, forbids us to think highly of ourselves, or to "receive 
honor one of another:". it commands us to "seek the honor which 
cometh of God only."|| The love of our reconciled God in Christ 
Jesus, sweetly rekindling our long extinguished affections to him, is 
to be the motive of all our actions. Now this motive will last as 
long as the love of God lasts ; that is, to all eternity. Human mo- 
tives are perishable. The praise we so eagerly covet, disappoints 
our expectation when it is obtained. And what self-esteem can 
quiet a wounded conscience? Besides, the Bible motive is worthy 
of a rational being. Human motives are such, that those who are 

* 2 Cor. v. 19. f Heb. i. 3. Col. ii. 9. % Cor. i. 22, 24. 

§ 1 John v. 11. II Rom. xii. 3, 10. Phil. ii. 3. John. v. 44. 



270 THE TEST OF TRUTH. 

most influenced by them, are ashamed to own them. Love, divine 
love, purifies, and ennobles, and satisfies the soul: it makes the 
source of action pure, and then the actions themselves must be so. 
Human motives debase the soul, and render it mean and selfish ; 
they must in the end prove unsatisfactory : they pollute the source 
of actions, and make men like painted sepulchres, fair without, but 
hollow and rotten within. And as for strength; while the Bible as- 
sures us that all human efforts and resolutions are frail as the 
bruised reed, and transitory as the morning dew ; it informs us that 
"the grace of Jesus is sufficient for us," and that we "can do all 
things through Christ which strengtheneth us."* I applied for this 
grace and this strength. I did not apply in vain. 

One peculiarity in the Scripture remedy struck me as very re- 
markable. This was the pains taken to pour contempt upon all 
human pride and glory. As we fell by pride and independence, we 
must be restored by humility and dependence. The Scriptures 
leave us not one single thing in ourselves whereof to glory. The 
" wise man must not. glory in his wisdom, nor the strong man in his 
might, nor the rich man in his riches."t All boasting is forever ex- 
cluded. If we come to God, it must be as sinners through Christ. 
If we receive heaven, it must be as the purchase of Christ's mer- 
its, not of our own deservings. From first to last, the Christian is 
taught to say, — " Not unto us, O Lord, not unto us, but unto thy 
name give glory ."+ 

6. During this reading, I discovered the reason, which had so 
long prevented me from receiving the truth as it is in Jesus, and 
from finding in the Scriptures those treasures of wisdom and glad- 
ness which they contain. "They that be whole." says this divine 
philosophy, " need not a physician, but they that are sick."§ So 
long as I knew not that my soul was altogether infected with the 
dreadful malady of sin, it was not possible for me to appreciate His 
love, who came to save me from my sins. But when the Holy 
Spirit taught me that I was utterly undone and unclean, then the 
knowledge of Him who "is able to save to the uttermost," and 
whose "blood cleanseth from all sin," became the only cordial which 
could relieve my fainting spirits. From that moment I ceased to 
stumble at the doctrine of the cross. I was a sinner, I wanted a 
Saviour. In Jesus Christ I found all my wants satisfied. I fled 
for refuge to this hope, which had been thus unexpectedly set be- 
fore me. Into his hands I have committed my spirit, and I know 
" that he is able to keep that which I have committed to him."|| 
Thus will you, when God shows you that you are vile and con- 
demned and hateful in his sight, experience the sweetness of the 
name of Jesus. 

7. The Scriptures afford me a clue to many things which have 
embarrassed the most penetrating understandings. One of these 
things was the reason, why it happens that this book appears full 

* 1 Cor. xii. 9. Phil. iv. 13. f Jer. ix. 23. % Psalm cxv. 1. 

§ Matt. ix. 12. H 2 Tim. i. 12. 



THE TEST OF TRUTH. 271 

of absurdities if not contradictions to an unconverted person ; while 
the believer views it as a glorious whole, all whose parts are in per- 
fect unison, and which explain and illustrate each other. And this 
is the reason : — " the natural man understandeth not the things of 
the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; neither can he 
know them, because they are spiritually discerned." " For the god 
of this world hath blinded the minds of them that believe not, lest 
the glorious Gospel of Christ should shine unto them."* The doc- 
trines of Scripture, which had before appeared to me an inexplica- 
ble mass of confusion and contradictions, were now written on my 
understanding with the clearness of a sunbeam. For, saith the 
same Scripture, "God, who commanded the light to shine out of 
darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowl- 
edge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.''! 

Above all, that once abhorred doctrine of the divinity of Christ, 
was now become exceeding precious to me. From my inmost soul 
I recognized Jesus as my Lord and my God. Of this change in 
my views I also found an account in Scripture. " No man can 
say that Jesus is the Lord, but by the Holy Ghost."J Nominal 
Christians may indeed call him Lord, Lord, with their lips, and 
in the externals of a formal devotion ; but their hearts cannot 
go along with their professions, until the Spirit of God convince 
them. 

I was sensible that a vast revolution had been effected in my 
temper, views, and dispositions. For this I should have been at a 
loss to account, had not the same Bible furnished me with a solution 
of the mystery. " If any man be in Christ Jesus, he is a new crea- 
ture: old things are passed away ; behold^ all things are become 
new.^h 

The external evidences of Christianity, though I now perceived 
all their force, were no longer necessary to my conviction. I need 
no proofs to convince me that the sun is shining at midday. I 
needed none to convince me that the love of my reconciled God and 
Father was shining full upon my soul, with an enlightening, puri- 
fying, and vivifying influence. When objections assailed me, I 
found myself much in the situation of the man who opposed to all 
the cavils of the Jews this simple, yet irresistible answer ; — " Whe- 
ther these things be as ye say, I know not : — one thing I know > — • 
whereas I was blind, now I seePW 

Having formed my opinions solely by the word of God, my at- 
tention was naturally attracted by the various sects of Christianity, 
with which this land of toleration abounds. I belonged to the Es- 
tablished Church, and found every reason to continue within her 
walls. But in every sect, which took the pure, unadulterated Bible 
for its standard, I perceived a small number of persons who desired 
no other happiness than the love of God. These, I observed, to 
whatever denomination they belonged, loved and understood one 

* t Cor. ii. 14. 2 Cor. iv. 4. f 1 Cor. iv. 6. % Ibitl - xii - 3 - 

§ 2 Cor. v. 17. II John x. 25. 



272 THE TEST OF TRUTH. 

another, but were often hated and misconstrued by the rest of man- 
kind. If they differed as to some points of minor importance, they 
were, however, unanimous upon the grand essentials of religion. 
In this one point, especially, I found them to be all perfectly agreed 
among themselves, and perfectly opposed to all other men : — they, 
with one consent, ascribed to Jesus the whole glory of their salvation, 
acknowledging no merit in themselves which could possibly interest 
God in their favor. 

At the same time I could not help perceiving, that in every per- 
suasion (my own not excepted) the majority were Christians only 
in name, and in reality believed in God no more than the professed 
freethinker believes in him. For this one thing is certain. If they 
did really believe in the Bible, they would be more intent upon es- 
caping the threatenings and gaining the promises of the Bible, than 
they are upon the riches, honor, pleasures or learning of this world. 
But the contrary is the fact. They are more intent upon the riches, 
honor, pleasures, or learning of this world, than upon escaping the 
threatenings, or gaining the promises of the Bible. Therefore, 
they do not believe the threatenings or promises of the Bible. If 
they believed them, they would act upon them. By not acting 
upon them, they prove that they do not believe them. To believe 
really in God is to be convinced that he is something better than 
the world, and better than self. It implies, therefore, a hearty and 
entire renunciation of the world and self; and a hearty and en- 
tire devotion of ourselves to God, as to something incomparably 
better. 

The feio then, of every Christian denomination, I recognized as 
members of the true Church of Christ. At first the small number 
of real Christians perplexed me, and I anxiously exclaimed, Are 
there so few that be saved ? But I remembered that even this cir- 
cumstance added its testimony to the veracity of the Scripture 
statement, which always represents the Church of Christ as a little 
flock,*' exposed to the hatred and derision of the larger portion of 
mankind, who should continue obstinate in their monstrous rebel- 
lion, against the Most High. Besides this, when I reflected on the 
mightiness of the change which must take place in every sinner's 
heart before he could sincerely love God, and the necessity of his 
submitting to be viewed with contempt and disgust by many who 
before had loved and courted him, I rather marvelled at the mira- 
cle of divine grace, by which any are saved, than inquired, why 
so few ? But I found from the prophetic writings that the number 
of Christ's enemies shall not always exceed that of his friends. 
The time is not far distant, when " the earth shall be filled with 
the glory of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea."t 

I have endeavored briefly to recapitulate the chief reflections 

which occurred to me while I was reading the Bible, with the help 

(as I verily believe) of the Spirit of Jesus. From that time I have 

continued to sit at the feet of Jesus, and to hear his word : taking 

* Luke xii. 32. t Isaiah xi. 9. 



THE TEST OF TRUTH. 273 

him for my Teacher and Guide in things temporal as well as spir- 
itual. He has found in me a disciple so slow of comprehension, so 
prone to forget his lessons, and to act in opposition to his commands, 
that were he not infinitely meek and lowly in heart, he would long 
ago have cast me oft* in anger. But he still continues to bear with 
me, and to give me line upon line and precept upon precept. And 
I am certain that he will never leave me nor forsake me ; for though 
I am variable and inconstant, " with him there is no variableness, 
neither shadow of turning."* 

In narrating the means by which I was drawn forth out of the 
horrible abyss of infidelity, my design has been to give some idea 
of the process which must take place in every sinner's heart, before 
he can know or desire to know the God who gave him being. And 
thus it must be with you. You must be roused to a lively sense 
of the importance of knowing God ; — must be convinced that you 
have hitherto lived in ,a state of blindness and enmity against 
him : — you must learn that all your fancied wisdom is mere folly 
in his sight ; and must be ready to receive the truth as God is 
pleased to reveal it. Instead of insolently dictating the way in 
which God shall deal with his offending creature, you must lay 
down the arms of your rebellion, and accept of pardon and peace 
upon his terms. When these dispositions are wrought in your 
heart (and they can be wrought only by a Divine Power), then the 
Lord will reveal Himself to you, show you the truth of His Ever- 
lasting Gospel, and bring the salvation of Jesus home to your 
heart. I ask you not to believe any thing upon my word. That 
were indeed foolish, when you cannot, take it upon God's word. 
But I beseech you to make trial of God's word. Reject it not till 
you have put it to the test I have proposed to you. Examine thus 
for yourselves. Know whether the God of Scripture be as he is 
there styled, " the God who heareth prayer." And we, who " have 
tasted that the Lord is gracious," will not cease to pray for you, that 
" the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of Glory, may give 
unto you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of 
him : the eyes of your understanding being enlightened, that ye 
may know what is the hope of his calling, and what the riches of 
the glory of his inheritance in the saints ; and what is the exceed- 
ing greatness of his ptower to us-ward who believe, according to 
the working of His Mighty Power." Amen. — Eph. i. 17 — 19. 

* James i. 17. 
18 



JUSTIFYING AND ELECTING GRACE 



THE FREENESS AND SOVEREIGNTY OF GOD'S 
JUSTIFYING AND ELECTING GRACE. 



BY MARY JANE GRAHAM, 

LATE OF STOKE FLEMING, DEVON. 






PREFACE. 



Many plain persons, who have not time to read long treatises, 
or to enter into the intricacies of controversy, entertain doubts 
upon some of the leading doctrines of the Gospel, and suffer those 
doubts to remain unsatisfied, either because they deem the sub- 
ject unprofitable, or think they have not time for its investigation. 
No subject, however, can justly be deemed unprofitable, a right 
knowledge of which is essential either to our eternal salvation, or 
to the comfort and consistency of our Christian walk. 

I believe the doctrine of free justifying grace to belong to the 
former class of subjects ; that of sovereign electing grace to the 
latter. Every person who has time to read his Bible, and to pray 
over it, may obtain a clear and experimental knowledge of these 
truths ; and to assist him in doing so, is the object of the follow- 
ing pages. And for the comfort of those who are members of the 
Church of England, the Author has, on every subject, brought 
the words of that church forward to prove how strictly they agree 
with the Scripture statement of that subject. Not that any sin- 
gle doctrine can be either proved or disproved from the Service 
and Articles of our Church, but that having examined the doctrine 
by Scripture, it is satisfactory to find our Church bearing her tes- 
timony to the truth of what the Scripture says. 

May the Lord the Spirit, without whom not one good word 
can be written or read to any good purpose, bless both the writer 
and reader of this little treatise, with such a spiritual understand- 
ing of His word, as may enable them, with one mind and one 
mouth, to glorify God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. 
Amen. 






THE FREENESS, ETC 



CHAPTER I 



ON ORIGINAL SIN. 



An obscure or imperfect view of one doctrine often leads to the 
rejection of another. Thus I have always found, that those who 
conscientiously reject the doctrine of election, do so from an inabil- 
ity to take into the account, the absolutely free and unconditional 
nature of God's grace in pardoning sinners ; and I believe the clear- 
ness of our views of this latter doctrine to be, in most cases, com- 
mensurate with our deep and abiding conviction of man's utter and 
original depravity. 

This may happen to real Christians. A person may see enough 
of the sin of his heart and life, to come heartily to Christ for salva- 
tion, and yet he may not be so deeply convinced of his entire ruin 
in the fall, and of the desperate wickedness and utter helplessness 
of his nature from the very womb, as to perceive the justice, or even 
the necessity of the doctrine of election. 

Yet a very clear conviction of our natural enmity against God, 
and of our entire inability to seek or to choose any thing that is 
good, plainly involves with it a conviction that if we love God, it 
must be because he first loved us ; that if we choose Christ and 
his ways at all, it can be ascribed to no other cause than that he 
first chose us, — or in other words, that we are elect, according to 
the foreknowledge of God. 

Such being my view of the case, I entreat my reader's attention 
while I say a few words on the doctrine of original sin. It is the 
very first lesson in the school of Christ ; and it is only by being 
well rooted and grounded in these first principles, that we can hope 
to go on to perfection. The doctrine is written in Scripture as with 
a sunbeam. If we do not feel some conviction of it in our own 
hearts, it affords a sad proof that we still belong to that " genera- 
tion that is pure in their own eyes, and yet is not washed from their 
filthiness."* "All the ways of a man are clean in his own eyes, 
but the Lord weigheth the spirits."! With Him a high look, and 
a proud heart, an idle word, and a light thought is sin. His law 
* Prov. xxx. 12. t j- Ibid. xvi. 2. 



280 ON ORIGINAL SIN. 

is spiritual, reaching to every thought and intent of the heart. — 
" Whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, 
he is guilty of all."* 

If then we say that we have no sin, we make God a liar ; but 
if we allow thai we sin at all, then must we allow that our whole 
nature is sinful and corrupt. At least our Saviour thought so. 
He declares that corrupt fruit only can come from a corrupt tree: 
corrupt doings of a corrupt nature. "A good tree cannot bring 
forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit."! 
As if our blessed Saviour had said : " Be consistent ; either say at 
once that ye know no sin, or if indeed conscience witnesses that 
ye do sin every day. and every hour of your lives, then confess 
that your corrupt doings proceed from a nature inherently corrupt. 
If your nature were a good, a holy nature, it could not be thus 
continually putting forth the evil fruit of unholy actions. The 
clusters that bow down the branches of the vine may become less 
luxuriant, but still they are grapes; no change of season or of cli- 
mate can cause it to teem with the unsightly fruit of the bramble, 
or the tasteless berries of the thorn. Look then no longer for any 
thins: good in yourselves ; it is to look for grapes on thorns, or figs 
on thistles. Once I had planted you a noble vine, wholly a right 
seed ; but now are ye turned to (he degenerate plant of a strange 
vine unto me. The parent stock became corrupt, and spread cor- 
ruption through all its branches. One only hope remains for you. 
Confess your sin and misery, and seek to be grafted, contrary to na- 
ture, into me the true vine: thus abiding in me, and I in you, ye 
who in yourselves can do nothing, shall in me bear much and 
good fruit.' The fountain of humanity has been poisoned at its 
very head, and will bring forth nothing but pollution : " the heart 
is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked ;"+ out of it 
flow, as from their natural source, evil thoughts, adulteries, mur- 
ders, and all that train of corruptions mentioned by our Lord in 
Mark vii. 21, 22. " Good Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal 
life? Why callest thou me good? There is none good but one, 
that is God."$ These words of our Lord again seem to imply, ' Be 
consistent ; either admit that I am God, or if ye will have it that 
I am but a mere man like yourself, then ascribe no goodness to me ; 
for know, that in man dwelleth no good thing. " Suppose ye that 
these Galileans were sinners above all the Galileans because they 
suffered such things? I tell you nay; but except ye repent, ye 
shall all likewise perish." 'II " That which is born of the flesh is 
flesh.^T They that are in the flesh cannot please God."** Why so? 
Because " the carnal mind is enmity against God, for it is not sub- 
ject to the law of God, neither indeed can be."tt O how the very 
opinions of men on this subject prove the depth of their blindness 
and perverseness : that they will persist in saying, " I am rich and 

* James ii. 10. t Matt. **% 18. $ Jer. xvii. 9. 

§ Mark. x. 17. II Luke xiii. 2, 3. IT John iii. 6. 

** Rom. viii. 8. ft Ibi(1 - viii. 7. 



ON ORIGINAL SIN. 281 

increased with goods, and have need of nothing:" when he w T ho 
tried the heart and reins has affirmed of them, that they are 
'•' wretched, and poor, and miserable, and blind, and naked."* 

The Scripture history of man opens with these words, -'And 
God said, let us make man in our own image, after our likeness. 
So God created man in his own image; in the image of God cre- 
ated he him.' : t " God is a Spirit ft it must, therefore, have been 
in his spiritual image that man was created. In holiness, in happi- 
ness, in knowledge, such as become his state, — in these things man 
resembled his Maker. 

Now, it is very remarkable, that after the fall, we are expressly 
told, that u Adam begat a son in his own likeness after his image,' 1 ? 
that is, as unlike the original holy image of God as darkness is to 
light, or corruption to incorruption. For would we ascertain from 
the mouth of God himself, what man was then like, let us go a 
chapter or two further, and we shall find the Lord looking down 
upon his ruined creation, upon those things which his hand made, 
and which he had once pronounced to be very good. 

Now " God looked upon the earth, and behold it was corrupt ; 
for all flesh had corrupted his way upon the earth :|| and God saw 
that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every 
imagination of the thought of his heart was only evil continually."^! 
Can the Spirit of truth testify of our character in plainer or in 
stronger terms. 

But lest those who resist even the Spirit when his words would 
convince them of sin, should object that this description is only ap- 
plied to the wicked generation that was swept away by the flood, 
God has provided against this subterfuge. 

The windows of heaven are stopped ; the rain from heaven is 
restrained ; the waters return from off the earth ; and the ark rests 
upon the mountains of Ararat. Eight chosen persons, the remains 
of the once countless multitude, come forth from this hiding-place 
of the Lord's providing, and join together in a sacrifice of thanks- 
giving, which rises up as a sweet-smelling savor before God.** Let 
us pause a moment to see what we can collect from Scripture con- 
cerning the persons who knelt around the family altar. One of 
them is cited as a pattern of holiness throughout the Old and New 
Testaments. We learn but little of his three sons : yet an act of 
filial piety is recorded of two of them which, together with the bless- 
ing of their inspired father, mark them, in our esteem, for holy 
men. Nothing is told us concerning their wives : yet we may not 
unfairly suppose, that out of this little female remnant there would 
be some who, like their husbands and father, walked with God. 
So that we have here eight persons, of whom we know that three 
were good ; and we know only of one who was wicked. Now it 
was upon this very occasion in which the sweet savor of this very 
sacrifice was ascending before God, that he said, " I will not again 

* Rev. iii. 17. f Gni. i. 25, 27. + John iv. 24. § Gen. v. 3. 

II Ibid. vi. 12. if Ibid. vi. 5. ** Ibid. viii. 20, 21. 



282 ON ORIGINAL SIN. 

curse the ground any more for man's sake ; for the imagination of 
man's heart is evil from his youth."* What, still evil ? Still does 
the Holy Ghost bear his testimony against man? Yet not one of 
all that rebellious generation remains. Mankind is reduced to an 
exceeding small compass. Never has the earth been so purified. 
Never since has it contained so select an assembly as that which 
we are now considering. Yet, still — still the character of man is 
thus given by Him wko cannot lie. "The imagination of man's 
heart is evil from his youth :" — the heart of the righteous Noah, no 
less than that of the ungodly Ham : for had there been an excep- 
tion in so small a circle, the Judge of the whole earth would not 
have included them all in the same sweeping accusation. More- 
over, he declares that the heart of man will be always evil : for 
that is the very reason he gives why he will curse the ground no 
more for man's sake. He does not say, 1 1 will not do it again, be- 
cause they will improve — their hearts will grow better ;' but ' I 
will do so no more, because the heart of man is evil from his 
youth? Not all the waters of the flood can wash out the guilty 
stain which Adam has entailed upon his children— not all the 
waters of the flood can cleanse the earth, so long as one of Adam's 
sin-defiled race shall remain upon its surface. And to this day, if 
we had no other witness to testify against us that our hearts are 
evil ; yet have we an accusing monitor in the clouds, even the bow 
of the covenant which God has set there for a sign to us, that he 
will not in our days bring the waters to cover the earth ; because 
the imaginations of the thoughts of our hearts are evil — only 
evil — evil continually — evil from our youth. The Hebrew word 
rendered imaginations is, as we learn from the marginal notes, much 
stronger than the interpretation conveys an idea, of, since it signi- 
fies the whole intents, purposes, and desires of the heart. 

Would we know the reason of this indellible pollution, which 
fallen man has transmitted to his latest descendants ? let that given 
by Scripture suffice — "Who can bring a clean thing out of an un- 
clean ? not one."t But is not the new-born babe innocent ? Yes, 
from the commission of actual sin, but not from the pollution of a 
nature altogether sinful; for who can bring a clean thing out of 
an unclean? " Death passed upon all men, for all have sinned."+ 
Why then is death so often commissioned to snatch away the babe 
in the first hour of its existence ? — why, but because that babe is a sin- 
ful creature 1 Sin. that root of bitterness, has already shot its fibres 
into the inmost soul. That infant "born of the flesh, is flesh"§ 
and "as such cannot please God"|| — cannot bring forth any other 
than the accursed fruits of the flesh. As surety as the cockatrice' 
egg will hatch into a viper, so surely will the babe born of unclean 
parents be itself unclean ; — so surely it will be " by nature a child 
of wrath, even as others."^! And therefore it is as the Apostle tells 
us, that. " Death reigneth over all, even over all them that have 

* Gen viii. 21. t JoD - xiv - 4. $ Rom. v. 12. 

§ John iii. II Rom. viii. 8. IT Ephes. ii. 3. 






ON ORIGINAL SIN. 283 

not sinned after the similitude of Adam's transgression."* I enter- 
tain not a doubt that these little ones are redeemed by the blood 
of Jesus ; but that they need redemption, that they are sinners, — 
children of wrath by nature, — of this truth I am equally well as- 
sured, and every little mound in the church-yard seems to have a 
voice that tells me so. 

The baptism of infants is a striking recognition of their ruined 
and sinful state by nature ; for what is baptism but a sign of the 
washing away of the filth of our polluted nature? The Church 
service on this, as well as most other points, is irresistibly plain and 
convincing. In the baptism of infants, the priest thus begins his 
exhortation : ' Dearly beloved, forasmuch as all men are conceived 
and born in sin ; I beseech you to call on God the Father, that of 
his bounteous mercy, he may grant to this child that thing which 
by nature he cannot have.' Again, ' We call upon thee for this 
infant, that he coming into thy holy baptism, may receive remission 
of his sins by spiritual regeneration. O merciful God, grant that 
the old Adam in this child may be so buried, that the new man 
may be raised up in him.' 

Let not any one so far misunderstand me as to suppose that I 
think baptism is any thing more than the outward sign of regene- 
ration, or the washing away of the filth of the flesh : though I be- 
lieve that if with our Church we carry little children in faith to 
Jesus, we have every reason to hope that he will receive them in 
his arms, and bless them with the inward grace. But my object 
here is solely to point out how our Church in the baptism of 
infants, acknowledges the doctrine of original sin. 

The Holy Ghost has instructed the xlpostle to give us such a full 
comment upon the spiritual death we all die in Adam, that we can- 
not too often read and pray over the following passages, Rom. v. 
12, 21. 1 Cor. xv. 21, 22, 45, 49. Ephes. iv. 22, 24. Col. hi. 
9, 10 ; there are many others in which our nature in Adam is 
spoken of, in contradistinction to the new and holy nature we re- 
ceive in Christ Jesus. So essential is a right understanding of this 
truth, that until we receive it, many of the most beautiful parts of 
the Church service must appear just as unintelligible to us as if 
they were written in an unknown language. Nay, worse than un- 
intelligible, they must seem extremely foolish and ridiculous. How 
absurd (to an understanding not convinced of the original defile- 
ment of our nature) must it appear to talk of remitting an in- 
fant's sins ; of causing the old Adam to be buried, and his carnal 
affections to die in him ; while all the time the hearer thinks that 
the infant as yet has no sins, no carnal affections, — while the 
very existence of the old Adam, or original sin, is doubted by 
him ! 

The Scripture is so full of testimonies to this important truth, 
that it seems to mingle with every other doctrine, and serves as a 
kind of master-key to unlock every other mystery. Take away 

* Rom. v. 14. 



284 ON ORIGINAL SIN. 

this, and the Redeemer loses half his praise ; the types and sacri- 
fices of the law lose half their significancy ; for they shadow forth 
the sin of our nature, as well as our actual transgressions, and Jesus 
came to deliver us from the guilt of our nature, as well as from the 
evil of our lives. Oh, what an unmeaning heap of words has been 
handed down to us by the law of Moses, the Psalms of David, the 
confessions of Ezra, Nehemiah, Job, Daniel, Jeremiah, and the 
rest of God's saints, if that evil nature which caused them to groan 
did not really exist ! Above all, what shall we make of Romans 
iii. and vii. ? What shall we understand by the conflict between 
the flesh and the spirit, between the old man and the new man, 
between the carnal and spiritual affections? Was St. Paul dream- 
ing when he said, " I know that in me, that is, in my flesh dweil- 
eth no good thing ?"* Was he beside himself when he declared, 
" that he found in himself a law, that when he would do good evil 
was present with him ?"t That though by divine grace he had 
learnt "to delight in the law of God after the inward man, yet still 
he saw another law in his members, warring against the law of his 
mind, and bringing him into captivity to the law of sin, which was 
in his members?"* The Apostle of the Gentiles "who labored 
more abundantly than they all ;"§ he, who "had been caught up 
to the third heaven, and heard unspeakable words which it was not 
lawful for him to utter" II amongst sinful men; he, who "counted 
all things but dung that he might win Christ ;' ; 1f he, who was ready 
not only to be bound, but also to die for the name of the Lord 
Jesus ;"** this chosen vessel of mercy, full of zeal and full of love, 
and under the immediate inspiration of the Holy Ghost, so 
groaned under the burden of the original corruption of his nature; 
the law of sin warring in his members ; that he was compelled to 
cry out, " O wretched man that I am, who shall deliver me from 
the body of this death ?"tt And from the time of Paul there has 
never been a real Christian who has not often felt himself con- 
strained to adopt his language, and to say in the language of his 
soul, " who shall deliver me from the body of this death ?" The 
remedy, as is usual in Scripture, follows close upon the complaint : 
" I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord."U 

In this epistle, the Holy Ghost is seen peculiarly to fulfil his sacred 
office. He shall convince of sin, of righteousness and of justifica- 
tion. How strong is the language in which he presses the first con- 
demning testimony home to our shrinking conscious bosoms ! How 
sweet and clear the second part of his testimony, when he takes 
of the righteousness of Jesus and shows it to us, yea, tells us that 
it is ours, if we will cease to go about to establish our own ! And 
when he is fulfilling the third part of his mission, with what trium- 
phant energy has he inspired the Apostle to unfold to us, how we 
are justified freely by his grace, acquitted, so that none can lay 

* Rom. vii. 18. f Ibid. vii. 21. ± Ibid. vii. 22, 23. 

$ 1 Cor. xv. 10. II Ibid. xii. 2, 4. IT Phil. iii. 8. 

** Acts xxi 13. tt Rom. vii. 13. # Ibid. vii. 25. 



ON ORIGINAL SIN. 285 

aught to our charge, not Satan himself, that accuser of the brethren ; 
for the prince of this world is judged, Satan bruised under our 
feet! 

But to return to my subject — "We have before proved both Jews 
and Gentiles that they are all under sin, as it is written, There is 
none righteous, no, not one : there is none that understandeth, there 
is none that seeketh after God, they are all gone out of the way, 
they are together become unprofitable, there is none that doeth 
good, no, not one. Their throat is an open sepulchre ; with then- 
tongues they have used deceit ; the poison of asps is under their 
lips; whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness; their feet are 
swift to shed blood ; destruction and misery are in their ways ; and 
the way of peace have they not known ; there is no fear of God 
before their eyes.'' Rom. iii. 9 — 17. Which compare with Psalm 
iiii. Now, since God the Spirit knew the hearts of his creatures, and 
has given this as a faithful portrait of the real character of every 
individual upon the face of the earth ; it follows that all have that 
original sin, which is the fruitful source of all evil actions and dis- 
positions. 

Having now brought our testimony from the " three that bear 
witness in heaven," — having heard from God the Father, that the 
imagination of man's heart is only evil from his youth ; — from God 
the Son, that out of the heart of man, come evil thoughts, blasphe- 
my, pride, foolishness ; that the corrupt heart, like a corrupt tree, can 
only bring forth corrupt fruit ; — and from God the Spirit, that the 
carnal mind is enmity against God ; that in us dwelleth no good 
thing: — let us now turn again to the words of our church, and see 
whether she has received from Scripture, this humbling doctrine of 
man's utter depravity. Of original or birth sin — Article 9. — : Orig- 
inal sin standeth not in the following of Adam' (as the Pelagians 
do vainly talk,) " but it is the fault and corruption of the nature 
of every man that naturally is engendered of the offspring of 
Adam, whereby man is very far gone from original righteousness, 
and is of his own nature inclined to evil ; so that the flesh lusteth 
always contrary to the spirit ; and, therefore, in every person born 
into this world, it deserveth God's wrath and damnation. And this 
infection of nature doth remain, yea, in them that are regenerated.* 
Of works before justification — Article 13. — ' Works done before the 
grace of Christ and the inspiration of his Spirit, are ?wt pleasant 
to God, forasmuch as they spring not of faith in Jesus Christ. For 
that they are not done as God both willed and commanded them to 
be done, we doubt not but they have the nature of sin.' In the 
second Article, we are assured that Christ was a sacrifice, l not only 
for original guilt, but also for the actual sins of men.' 

Now as to all those vain and curious questions which men, w T ho 
would be wise above that which is written, have raised on the na- 
ture and causes of original sin, and how it is conveyed from Adam 
to his fallen race — with all these I w T ould have nothing to do. All 
1 want to insist upon, is the doctrine as it stands in every part of 



286 ON ORIGINAL SIN. 

the Bible ; as it is set forth in the articles of our Church ; as it is 
exemplified in the heart of every individual upon the face of the 
earth. In our own heart we cannot but find it, if we will let con- 
science do its office. Let then, fi every mouth be stopped, and all 
the world become guilty before God."* Let us pray that the Spirit 
of truth would convince of what is written in the Word of Truth — 
that he would make ' the burden of original sin grievous and intol- 
erable' to us: for till we thus perceive the truth, so as really to 
groan under the weight of our corrupt nature, we shall not discover 
the necessity of that new and holy nature, without which we can- 
not enter the kingdom of God. " They that be whole need not a 
physician."t They that be righteous desire not a Saviour. They 
that acknowledge sin in part, but not that they are wholly de- 
praved — estranged from the womb, — these, not conscious that the 
whole garment is spotted by the flesh, will seek to patch new cloth 
on the old garment, and so will make the rent worse : they will seek 
to put the new wine into old bottles — and what wonder if the old 
bottles burst, and the wine run out, and the bottles perish? No — 
the whole man must be renewed ; and such as feel not their need of 
this thorough renovation, have not yet made the first step towards 
the possession of eternal life. For how can we be alive to God 
without knowing that we were once " dead in sins ?"+ How be 
restored to the Shepherd of our souls, without knowing that by 
nature we were as sheep going astray ?§ How become children of 
grace, and yet not know that we "were by nature children of 
wrath even as others?'! What should we think of the man, who 
was born blind ; if, when he was restored to sight, he had professed 
to be ignorant that he was born blind? This cannot be — there- 
fore as in nature, so in grace. Those who have been really con- 
verted from a state of nature, all join in their confessions of that 
state. I was blind; but now I see. I was dead ; but now I am 
alive. I was lost ; but now am found. Nor do they think they 
can too often revive their sense of God's goodness and their own 
misery, by thus looking back to "the rock from whence they were 
hewn — to the hole of the pit from which they were digged."!" I 
conclude this subject in the words of one of the brightest, lumina- 
ries of our Church — he has been called the judicious Hooker : had 
he lived in the present age a far different title would have been al- 
lotted to him ; for he is, of all authors I ever read, the most full and 
decisive upon what are called Calvinistic doctrines. 'It may seem 
something extreme which I will speak: therefore let everyone 
judge it as his own heart shall tell him, and no otherwise. I will 
but only make a demand, — if God should yield unto us, not as he 
did unto Abraham, if fifty, forty, thirty : yea, or if ten good per- 
sons could be found in a city, for their sakes this city should not be 
destroyed : but, and if he should make us an offer thus large — 
search all the generations of men since the fall of our father Adam : 

* Rom. iii. 19. f Matthew ix. 12. rf: Ephes. ii. 1. 5. 

§ Isaiah liii. 6. II Ephes ii. 3. 1T Isaiah li. 1. 



ON FREE GRACE. 287 

find one man that hath done one action which hath passed from 
him pure without any stain or blemish at all; and for that one 
man's only action, neither man nor angels shall feel the torments 
prepared for both. Do you think that this ransom to deliver men 
and angels could be found to be among the sons of men?' 



CHAPTER II. 

ON FREE GRACE. 

The principal arguments drawn from Scripture against the ab- 
solute freeness of Divine grace in pardon, justification, and sancti- 
fication of sinners, are such as these: that the threats and promises 
of the Gospel are usually expressed in a conditional form ; and 
that grace is promised to all who diligently seek for it: this 
seeking then becomes a sort of meritorious act, by which we at- 
tract the notice or favor of God, and induce him to give us his 
grace. We will endeavor to examine each of these arguments 
separately. 

And first, it must be allowed that there is a sense in which both 
the threats and promises of the Gospel are conditional. As to the 
former of these, " the soul that sinneth it shall die :"* " cursed is 
everyone thai continueth not in all things which are written in the 
book of the law to do them :"t " Whosoever shall keep the whole 
law and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all."t These are 
some of the threats of that " God who is a consuming fire."§ And 
surely we have abundantly fulfilled the conditions to which they 
are attached. Death — even the death of the soul is our well- 
earned wages. The curse isour natural inheritance. We are born 
to it : for we are conceived in sin — we are shapen in iniquity — we 
go astray as soon as we are born, speaking lies : and every day, 
and every hour, and every moment, do we confirm our right and 
title to this inheritance ; deserving, both by nature and practice, the 
fulfilment of every one of the heavy threats of that God who can- 
not lie. Now I would ask what efforts of our own can rescue us 
from the fulfilment of these threatenings, since we are debtors to 
do the whole law ? and if we offend in one point, we are guilty of 
all ; and cursed are we if we continue not in all things written in 
the book of the law to do them. We can but deserve them over 
and over. O talk not of conditions — these are the conditions ! 

* Ezekiel xviii. 20. f Gal. iii. 10. % James ii. 10. 

§ Deut. iv. 24. 



288 ON FREE GRACE. 

We have clone our part — have irretrievably ruined ourselves. We 
owe ten thousand talents, and have nothing to pay ! 

But Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, being 
made a curse for us. " Through this man is preached unto you 
the forgiveness of sins: and by him all that believe are justified 
from all things."* He, and He only has borne the threats of God 
in his people's stead ; and he has borne them so completely away, 
that they shall never be mentioned to believers any more. Their 
sins have been transferred to Jesus. "He himself bare them in 
his own body on the tree."t Infinite justice has been appeased by 
an infinitely complete satisfaction. + and now (oh let us lift up our 
hearts in gratitude unspeakable,) "God can be just, and the jus- 
tifier of him which believeth in Jesus."§ Thus if we believe in 
Jestis, we escape the threatened curse of God, not because we have 
fulfilled one single condition, by which we might have escaped it, 
but simply and solely because Jesus has borne the curse for tis. 
He has borne it all, and he has borne it alone. His almighty 
shoulders have sustained the entire weight of the curse, one tittle 
of which had been sufficient to grind the whole human race to 
powder. He has "blotted out the hand-writing of ordinances that 
was against us, which was contrary to us, and taken it out of the 
way, nailing it to his cross."! And now, "Who shall lay any 
thing to the charge of God's elect? It is God that justifieth. Who 
is he that condemneth ? It is Christ that died, yea, rather, that is 
risen again,"!" thus proving that all is paid ; for having once as 
our Surety taken upon himself our mighty debt, we may rest sat- 
isfied that justice did not let him go until he had paid the uttermost 
farthing. 

Consider the cross of Christ ; who it was that suffered. " The 
mighty God, the everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace."** How 
he suffered, "behold and see if there be any sorrow like unto my 
sorrow."tt Remember that Christ crucified is " the wisdom of God 
and the power of God fit and then say, would this might plan have 
been devised to avert the curse from man, if he had been able by 
any efforts of his own to escape it? But there are those who will- 
ingly allow that Christ has done a great deal towards saving them 
from the wrath to come ; but not that he has done all. It must be 
a kind of joint concern, in which he has engaged to pay a part, if 
we pay the rest. His salvation is regarded as a sort of reserve to 
make up deficiencies. True, He died for us, but then we must 
merit by repentance, that his death be applied to us ; we must do 
what we can to appease God's justice, and he will throw his blood 
into the scale, to make up the rest. 

I do sincerely believe that of all the delusions which Satan has 
succeeded in putting into the hearts of men ; of all his subtle con- 

* Acts xiii. 38, 39. t 1 Peter ii. 24. 

^ John i. 7; ii. 1, 2. Heb. ix. 14; x. 12—18. § Rom. iii. 26. 

II Col. ii. 14. IT Rom. viii. 33, 34. ** Isa. ix. 6. 

-ft Lam. i. 12. tt l Cor - l 23 > ^ 



ON FREE GRACE. 289 

trivances to rob Christ of his glory, this is the master-piece. For 
of Satan's other devices we are less ignorant, but this one often 
comes to us dressed up in such a specious shape, as to "deceive, if 
possible, the very elect."* Many to whom the absurdity of pur- 
chasing heaven by their own good works is sufficiently evident ; 
who see that pardon is bought with the precious blood of Christ; 
are yet capable of the still greater absurdity of thinking to buy that 
precious blood which is above all price, with the poor imperfect 
offer of a few sighs and tears which they call repentance. And 
what is this repentance? Alas! they have never repented at all, 
if they be not ready from the heart to acknowledge w r ith the excel- 
lent Bishop Beveridge — 'I cannot so much as confess my sins, but 
my very confessions are an aggravation of them ; my repentance 
needs to be repented of ; my tears want washing ; and the very 
washings of my tears need to be washed over again, in the blood 
of my Redeemer.' 

Then let us freely acknowledge that the heavy burden of God's 
wrath has been lifted away only by the atonement, of Christ, and 
not by any superadded condition of our own performing. Christ 
has trodden the wine-press of God's wrath alone, and of the people 
there was none with him. And as to repentance, that is just as 
much the purchase of his blood, as heaven itself is.t " Thou hast 
destroyed thyself, but in me is thine help,"+ is the language of 
Scripture to all who are looking round for some means of escape 
from the angry threatenings of God's word : some refuge to which 
they may flee from the wrath to come. 

As to the promises, I do not say that they are unconditional 
either, but 1 do say that the conditions on which they depend are 
such as guilty man is altogether incapable of performing. I do say 
that Jesus as our Surety, has performed all these for us, and by 
his Spirit will perform them all, in us. Through his perfect atone- 
ment we escape the threatenings ; through his unspotted obedience 
we become heirs of the promises, — heirs of eternal life. For if the 
blame of our sins has been imputed to Him, then has the merit of 
His righteousness been imputed to us. " If he has been made sin 
for us, then have we been made the righteousness of God in him."§ 
And because the promises are ours for his sake, therefore the con- 
ditions of them are worked in us by his free Spirit ; " for it is not 
we who live the life of faith, but Christ that liveth in us."|| I am 
very earnest on this point, because I believe that every thing we 
arrogate to ourselves in the work of redemption, is just so much 
taken from the finished work of Jesus. It is indeed very natural 
to our carnal minds to wish to have something of our own to look 
at, to rest upon, to glory in ; but in proportion as we become spir- 
itually minded, we shall discover that we have nothing of our own 
but sin and misery and helplessness ; we shall learn to say, "Not 
unto us, O Lord, not unto us, but unto thy name give glory." " By 

* Matt. xxiv. -24. t Acts v - 31. % Hosea xui - 9. 

§ 2 Cor. v. 21. Rom. iv. 6 ; xi. 24 ; v. 19. Gal. iii. 29. II Gal. ii. 20. John xv. 4, 5. 

19 



• 



ON FREE GRACE. 

grace are ye saved through faith ; and even that faith is not of our- 
selves, it is the gift of God : not of works, lest any man should 
boast."* "The wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eter- 
nal life through Jesus Christ our Lord."t Oh then may we, receiv- 
ing " abundance of grace, and of the gift of righteousness, reign 
in life by one, even Jesus Christ.t 

One of the sweetest promises, upon which the mind of every 
Christian rests with unspeakable delight, runs thus: "Him (hat 
cometh unto me,. I will in no wise cast out."§ Here is a condition, 
Him that cometh; and a promise, I will not cast out. But, who 
are those that come to Jesus? "All that the Father givelh me 
shall come to me/'ll "No man can come to me except the Father 
which hath sent me draw him. "IF " No man can come to me, ex- 
cept it were given him of my Father."** How distinctly are we here 
told, that the same free mercy which promises to receive us when we 
come, must be put forth to make us come, or we never should come. 
The promise will surely be fulfilled to ail who obey the condition ; but 
none can obey the condition, save those to whom it is given. " If ye 
keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love."tt Precious 
promise ! indispensable condition ! For how can such as delight not 
in holiness, abide in the love of the most holy Jesus ? Yet I will freely 
confess, that if the performance of even this most just and reason- 
able condition depended in any measure on myself, I should think 
the Lord Jesus had most cruelly mocked me, in setting before me a 
promise which in my case at least, must forever remain unfulfilled. 
But blessings on his sacred name, he has not made the promise 
without providing for the condition ; having also promised to put 
his laws in my mind, and write them on my heart. XX So that I 
look on these very conditions as so many promises. As though 
my Saviour had said, ' Ye shall abide in my love, for that is un- 
changeable ; but ye can by no means abide in my love, except ye 
keep my commandments. Now ye are not able to do this, there- 
fore, behold I, even I will write them in your hearts, and copy them 
out in your lives. Freely then approach my throne of grace, and 
ask me for this promise; and as ye cannot so much as ask with- 
out me, behold I have promised to pour out upon you the Spirit of 
grace and supplications, who shall abide with you forever, teaching 
you both what to pray for, and how to pray."§§ In short I believe 
the heart of every redeemed sinner will enter deeply into the feel- 
ing which burns within mine while I say, Thank God, that the 
promises are not yea and amen in me, a miserable, weak, and sin- 
ful worm, incapable of performing one single condition of them ; 
but they are all yea and amen to me in Christ Jesus. For his 
- sake, God will make them all good to me ; yes, for his sake they 
are mine already. They are my own inheritance, once forfeited 

* Eph. ii. 8, 9. t Rom. vi. 23. + Rom. v. 17. 

§ Joiin vi. 37. II Ibid. vi. 37. IT Ibid. vi. 44. 

** John vi. 65. ft Ibid. xv. 10. # Heb. viii. 10. 

®& Zech. xii. 10. Rom. viii. 26. 



ON FREE GRACE. 291 

by sin, but now redeemed with the precious blood of Christ ; my 
purchased possession, which can never cease to be mine till the 
price that was paid down for it ceases to be precious in the Fa- 
ther's sight. They are the sure and steadfast anchor of my soul; 
the joy and rejoicing of my heart ; the song which enlivens this 
house of my pilgrimage ; better to me than life, dearer than my 
necessary food ; sweeter than honey and the honeycomb ; more pre- 
cious than fine gold ; purer than silver purified seven times. When 
my soul pants after any of these most sweet and tender unsealings of 
God's love, I will not, I cannot go to him and say, Lord, give me 
those promises because I have performed the conditions of them, and 
am therefore worthy that thou shouldest give them to me. God 
forbid that I should take such a plea within my lips, for in so doing 
my own heart would condemn me, and God, who is greater than 
my heart, would condemn me. No, when 1 draw near to my recon- 
ciled God and Father, I will fill my mouth with far other argu- 
ments than these. 1 will say to him, Lord, thou knowest that I" 
have not performed the conditions of these promises, but Jehovah 
my righteousness has fulfilled them all for me. I am not worthy 
of the least of all thy mercies; but worthy is the Lamb that was 
slain : and for his dear sake thou wilt, give me the best and greatest 
of them all ; and that exceeding abundantly, above all that I can 
ask or think. 

Every condition necessary to salvation is fulfilled in us, not by 
any efforts of our own, but by our receiving continually grace for 
grace, out of the fulness of Jesus. Repentance is necessary, but 
we cannot repent of ourselves ; and therefore Jesus is exalted to 
give repentance.*' It behoves us, not only to repent of, but to for- 
sake sin; but sooner shall the Ethiopian change his skin, and the 
leopard his spots, than we shall do good, who are accustomed to do 
evil ; and therefore Jesus is sent to bless us, " in turning away every 
one of us from our iniquities."t Faith is a necessary condition of 
salvation: u Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be 
saved. "t " He that believeth on me hath everlasting life ; he that 
believeth not shall not see life."§ Yet this same faith is the "gift 
of God. "II It is " given to us on the behalf of Christ, to believe. "IT 
" No man can say that Jesus is the Lord, but by the Holy Ghost."** 
Love is no less necessary than faith. " If any man love not the 
Lord Jesus, let him be anathema maran-atha."tt But the "carnal 
or natural mind is enmity against God.' , ++ And how then can it act 
so directly against its own nature as to love Him ? It is not only 
Indifferent, not merely slightly opposed, but in its very nature ab- 
solute enmity against God. " Nor can it be subject to the law of 
God ;"§§ for the fulfilling of that law is love. Miserably hopeless then 
is our case, if that heart, which is thus defined " enmity against God," 

* Acts v. 31. f Ibid- »i. 26. % Ibid. xvi. 31. 

% John vi. 47; iii. 36. If Ephes. ii. 8. IT Phil. i. 29. 

** 1 Cor. xii. 3. Matt. xvi. 17. ft Ibid - xvi. 22. # Rom. viii. 7. 
§§ Rom. viii. 7. 



292 ON FREE GRACE. 

must so overcome the moral incapacity of its own nature, as to fill 
itself with love to Him. But Jesus has reconciled us who were 
alienated and enemies in our own minds by wicked works ; and 
for his sake, M the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the 
Holy Ghost which is given to us."* Good works are absolutely 
necessary to salvation ; " Herein is my Father glorified, that ye 
bring forth much fruit."t " Faith without works is dead: I will 
show thee my faith by my works."* But it has already been urged, 
that as the corrupt tree cannot bring forth good fruit, so neither can 
we who are evil do good things. " Therefore the children of God 
are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which 
God hath before ordained that we should walk in them."§ True 
it is, that we are commanded to " work out our own salvation with 
fear and trembling ;" but the reason follows — " for it is God that 
worketh in us to will and to do of his own good pleasure." || I have 
used the word condition in this place, for the more convenient ex- 
position of my meaning ; but I consider the use of it, as applied to its, 
to be altogether incorrect. Faith, love, holiness, &c. were indeed to 
Christ, conditions of our salvation ; but to us they are the consequen- 
ces of salvation ; or rather they are a part of our salvation, pur- 
chased for us by the obedience and atonement of Jesus Christ. " who 
gave himself for us that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and 
purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works. "T 

We find then in ourselves an utter poverty of every thing that is 
spiritually good ; "but God hath blessed us with all spiritual bless- 
ings in Christ Jesus."* K We are nothing, can do nothing, say noth- 
ing, think nothing but what is evil. " Christ is all and in all." 
"Every good and every perfect gift comef.h from above," and is given 
to us by the Father, for his beloved Son's sake. " We are complete 
in him."tt 

I may seem to have often repeated the words ' gifts' and : given f 
but they cannot come over too often, nor be too earnestly dwelt on. 
The Scriptures are perpetually renewing the delightful repetition, 
and presenting the idea of somewhat gratuitously bestowed, under 
every possible variety of language and imagery. Sometimes they 
speak of buying the gospel blessings, and tell us to " come and buy 
without money and without price."U And what is this, but to come 
and hold out the empty hand of faith, and receive as a free gift all 
that God will put into it. Sometimes they represent sin under the 
idea of a vast debt, expressly declaring that "Jesus frankly forgives 
all when we have nothing to pay."§§ So long then as we think we 
have any thing to pay, we do not come under the description of 
those to whom Jesus frankly forgives all. But when convinced of 
our depravity and helplessness, we come poor, naked and empty to 

* Col. i. 21, Rom. v. 5. 1 Tim. i. 14. f John xv. 8. t James ii. 19, 20. 

§ Ephes. ii. 10. !l Phil. ii. 12, 13. Isa. xxvi. 12. Heb. xiii. 20, 21. 

IT Titus ii. 14. ** Ephes. i. 3. 

t* Col. iii. 11. James i. 17. Col. ii. 10. ft Isaiah Iv. 1. 

(k Matt. xvui. 27. 



ON FREE GRACE. 293 

Jesus, casting from us all confidence, save only that which his ten- 
der love and mercy excites, making mention of his righteousness, 
and his only ; then, and not till then, will he freely pardon, freely 
clothe and enrich us, freely receive us among the children, and make 
us perfect through his own comeliness, which he puts upon the souls 
that simply trust in Him. The poor and needy, the weak and 
helpless, are his peculiar care, while those who think they have any 
strength or riches of (heir own to trust to, are not objects of his 
bounty, for "he feedeth the strong with judgment,"* and "sendeth 
the rich empty away."t 

If any of the promises are conditional, those which are expressed 
in the form of a covenant must be of that description, since the very 
word implies a compact or agreement. Let us then inquire into the 
terms of that covenant which God has condescended to make with 
his people. 

We know the first covenant between God and man, how that 
was kept ; and if man, as he came out of the hands of his Crea- 
tor, upright, innocent and holy, could not keep conditions which he 
knew to be holy, just and good, how shall fallen man, " in whom 
dwelleth no good thing,' 7 keep any conditions fit for a Holy God to 
propose? I have heard it said, 'By sincere, though imperfect obe- 
dience :' both which terms, applied in this sense, appear to me ab- 
solute nonsense. For, in the first place, is it not blaspheming the 
holiness and justice of God, to suppose that He "who cannot be- 
hold iniquity," will be satisfied with an imperfect obedience? Then 
he will let go a little of his holiness — and a little of his justice, and 
part altogether with his attribute of truth? For He has said. 
That whosoever performs not the whole law, is guilty of all ; and 
that " He will, by no means, clear the guilty."* In the next place, 
how can we whose hearts are deceitful above all things and despe- 
rately wicked, § talk of sincere obedience ? We must have the 
deceitful heart taken away, and new hearts created within us, 
before we can render a sincere obedience : and then it will be no 
longer our own obedience. To express myself more clearly — 
' works done before justification have the nature of sin, and cannot 
so much as make us meet to receive grace :'(Art. 9,) these therefore 
must be wmolly out of the question, in any covenant, by which we 
think to merit God's favor. * Works done after justification/ 
though miserably imperfect, ' yet have somethng of the nature of 
sincere obedience :' but to call these the cause, either directly or 
indirectly of our justification, when they cannot by any means be 
produced till after justification ; this would be, in the most prepos- 
terous manner to confound the cause with the effect, and to put the 
last first. Justification is the producing cause : works done after 
justification are the natural effect. Let me correct myself. The 
free love of God in Christ is the sole cause both of justification and 
sanctification ; but He has so ordered it that the one shall always 

* Ezek. xxxiv. 15. f Luke i. 53. 

•J: Isaiah ii. 10. Exodus xxxiv. 7. § Jer. xvii, 9. 



294 ON FREE GRACE. 

follow the other in a fixed and inseparable connection ; and to say 
that good works precede or occasion justification, is to say that the 
fruit on the tree was there before ever the tree was planted : nay — 
that had not the fruit first blossomed and ripened, the tree had never 
come there at all — it is, in fact, to say that the fruit planted the tree. 

Let us cease then from attempting-, in whole or in part, to stand 
before God upon that covenant of works which our father xldam, 
with all the advantages of a sinless nature, did not keep. Far 
other are the means of acceptance which the Scriptures point out 
to us. They tell us that Jesus, " the second Adam — the mediator 
of the new covenant," has taken upon himself, as our Surety, to 
perform all the conditions annexed to it. He has borne all the pen- 
alties due to our disobedience; and has wrought out for us an obe- 
dience, so perfect, that the eye of God himself can perceive no flaw 
in it ; so infinitely meritorious, that those poor sinners who have it 
on, appear in the sight of the Father " without spot or wrinkle, or 
any such thing:" they are all fair — there is no spot in them.* 
Place now our sinceresl obedience by the side of the righteousness 
of Jesus. Compare our faint desires which expire in the utterance ; 
our tardy wishes which linger in the performance ; our few specious 
actions whose fair outside is a cloak to much that is selfish in the 
motives of them, and much that is perverse in the will. Compare 
this righteousness with the righteousness of Jesus ; of Him who 
u made it his meat and drink to do his Father's will ;" whose zeal 
for the house of God " consumed Him ;" who did always such 
things as pleased God ; who " knew no sin, neither was guile found 
in his mouth ;" who "was holy, harmless, imdefiled, separate from 
sinners," and himself made higher than the heavens. t Oh ! who 
would appear before God in his own filthy and ragged garments, 
when he might be arrayed in the glorious apparel of Christ's right- 
eousness ? Why — why cling any longer to the idea of our own 
works, as the means of winning God's favor? Do we not see that 
this covering is narrower than " that a man may wrap himself in 
it?" that it is not the covering of God's Spirit? and above all I 
would ask — why mix what God hath forever put asunder ? Is not 
the righteousness of Jesus sufficiently meritorious, that it must be 
helped out with our righteousness ? If it be a perfect righteousness, 
what need of trying to improve it by tacking to it some paltry mix- 
ture of our own fancied deservings ! This is the folly of man — 
of that vain worm who would be wiser than his Maker. 

I cannot forbear mentioning in this place the notable methods 
which some who call themselves serious Christians, have hit upon 
to eke out that perfect righteousness which they think to be insuf- 
ficient ; but which God has judged to be perfect and entire, want- 
ing nothing. There are some who look upon the merits of Christ 
as. given merely to supply what is lacking in their own sincere 
obedience ; these would cut such pieces out of the beautiful gar- 
ment as would serve to patch up their own filthy rags ; forgetting 
* Ephes. v. 27. Cant. iv. 7. | John ix - 34 - Psalm Ixix. 9. Heb. vii. 2& 



ON FREE GRACE. 295 

that even the soldiers, who crucified Christ, refused to part his gar- 
ment when they observed that it was without seam, woven from 
the top throughout. Others again profess to trust in Christ's right- 
eousness ; but talk, I know not what, of deserving by their own 
obedience, that this righteousness may be applied to them. These 
would put on the " spotless robe;" but Christ must, accept their 
own righteousness as a kind of equivalent or compensation for it. 
A third sort feel that they cannot do without Christ's righteousness : 
but i hen it is not enough — they must also do their part ; and when 
they have done this, they think that God will accept them : not for 
the sake of theirs alone — for that would be presumption, nor for the 
sake of Christ's alone — for that would be licentiousness ; but in 
some way or other for the sake of the two together. These truly 
would adorn the " glorious dress" with their own faded tinsel picked 
from the dunghill. They would make it more acceptable in God's 
sight by sewing on to it their own filthy rags. It is not so with 
those who have learned the truth "as it is in Jesus." They de- 
sire with St. Paul " to be found in him, not having their own 
righteousness which is of the law ; but that which is through the 
faith of Christ — the righteousness which is of God by faith."* 
They know that Jesus has " made an end of sin, and brought m 
everlasting righteousness :"t by which all the promises of the new 
covenant are made as sure to believers as the justice and faithful- 
ness — the oath and counsel of God can make them. Wonder not 
that the ministers of Christ should be exceedingly jealous on this 
point; for this is the wedding garment, without which whoso dares 
to appear before God, shall be bound hand and foot and cast into 
outer darkness. 

But to return to the promises of the covenant: for, at the risk 
of apparent repetition, I am desirous of setting this most important 
subject in a clear point of view ; — so far from holiness being made 
the condition of our obtaining them, it is itself the great promise 
insured to us by that covenant : " I will make an everlasting cove- 
nant with them, that I will not turn away from them to do them 
good ; but I will put my fear in their hearts, that they shall not 
depart from me."t " This is the covenant that I will make with 
them — I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their 
hearts."§ 

The character, by which the spirit of truth designates fallen men, 
is that of " covenant-breakers."|| " They," like men, " have trans- 
gressed the covenant."^ Isaiah says, " The earth is denied under 
the inhabitants thereof, because they have transgressed the laws, 
changed the ordinances, broken the everlasting covenant."** What 
then is the everlasting covenant? And how are we u covenant- 
breakers" to derive any benefit from it? Are the terms of the ev- 
erlasting covenant changed since God entered into covenant with 

* Phil. iii. 9. f Daniel ix. 24. % Jer. xxxii. 40. 

$ Jer. xxxi. 33. See also Heb. viii. 10; x. 16. II Rom. 1. 31. 

IT Hosea vi. 7. ** Isaiah xxiv. 31. 



296 ON FREE GRACE. 



Adam, as the representative of the whole human race? Has the 
Holy God ceased to stand upon a perfect obedience? Will he ac- 
cept less at our hands than he would at those of our father Adam? 
Has he reversed the decree — " The soul that sinneth, it'shall die?" 
No — the terms of the everlasting covenant remain unchanged. 
God still requires a sinless obedience: a righteousness without a 
flaw. Moreover, his justice demands satisfaction for his broken 
covenant. We can fulfil neither the one nor the other of these re- 
quirements. But behold the second Adam — who is the Lord from 
heaven ! With him God hath established his covenant, as the 
representative of a remnant chosen according to the election of 
grace. Jesus is the mediator and the surety of a better covenant 
than that which was made with Adam, or the typical covenant 
made with Moses. And yet the terms of the covenants are the 
same — perfect obedience: death in case of disobedience. But the 
death has been borne by him " who died that we might live." The 
obedience has been fulfilled by him "through whose obedience 
many were made righteous." Jesus, as the surety of the everlast- 
ing covenant, has both paid the full penalty incurred by his people 
for the breach of the old covenant ; and has likewise performed for 
them every condition of the new. " He was made sin for us." We 
are ' : made the righteousness of God in him." Thus, in the second 
Adam, we have paid to the uttermost farthing both the debt of sat- 
isfaction, and the debt of obedience. In our surety Jesus, we have 
"received at the Lord's hand double for all our sins." In our 
surety Jesus we have worked out our title to eternal life : we be- 
come rightful heirs of the promises. Thus God has made with his 
people " an everlasting covenant, well-ordered in all things, and 
sure ;" and this covenant is "all their salvation, and all their de- 
sire." Moreover, this covenant which was confirmed of God in 
Christ before the world was, cannot be disannulled by the covenant 
of works made with Adam since the creation of the world, nor by 
the law, which was added nearly 3000 years afterwards. It is de- 
lightful to trace this covenant from the beginning to the end of 
the Scriptures of Truth, as it was faintly revealed to Adam and 
Noah ; more clearly set forth to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob ; typi- 
fied in every part of the ceremonial law, and foretold by the law- 
giver Moses ; as it was sung by David, prophesied by Isaiah, Jere- 
miah, Ezekiel, and the rest of the prophets ; manifested and ful- 
filled in the life and death of Jesus ; and explained and enforced 
by the Apostle Paul and others of the holy Apostles. " Thanks be 
unto God for his unspeakable gift !" — for his free and complete sal- 
vation ! for, if it were not freely given, we could never attain to 
it; and, if it were not complete without our help, we should be 
but half saved. Surely this of all others is that "gift which is as 
a precious stone in the eyes of him that hath it, which way soever 
it turneth, it prospereth."* 

The great question then about the promises seems to be, not so 
* Proverbs xvii. 10. 



« 



ON FREE GRACE. 297 

miTi:h whether they are conditional, as whether God looks to 
Christ, or to us, for the performance of those conditions. If to 
Christ, the burden is laid upon "one that is mighty:" if to us, 
then we are undone; 'for the condition of man after the fall is 
such, that he cannot turn and prepare himself, by his own natu- 
ral strength and good works, to faith and calling upon God : where- 
fore we have no power do do good works pleasant and acceptable 
to God, without the grace of God by Christ preventing us, that we 
may have a good will, working in us when we have that good will. 1 
(Art. 10.) So then 'we are accounted righteous before God, only 
for the merit of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ by faith, 
and not for our own works and deservings : wherefore, that we 
are justified by faith only, is a most wholesome doctrine, and very 
full of comfort, as is more largely expressed in the Homily on Justi- 
fication.' (Art. 11.) 

We now come to the second argument. Grace will be given to 
all who diligently seek for it. But if we attend to the Scripture 
account of every man, woman, and child by nature, we shall find 
that this seeking also is the effect following upon grace received: 
not the cause producing it. By this I mean to say, that the very 
act of seeking grace proves that we have received grace already ; 
and that the very ability to seek, is itself the free gift of God's 
sovereign grace. If every thought of man's heart is evil, and that 
continually, surely it is not out of that heart that the first desire 
of any good thing can spring. If, by nature, there is none that 
seeketh after God, whence can the first attempt to seek him arise 
but from free grace drawing us contrary to nature ? Freely must 
grace be given to enable us to seek at first ; and freely must it be 
continued, to enable us to go on seeking. I know that none shall 
seek the Lord in vain • none w 7 ho come shall be cast out ; none 
who believe shall come short of everlasting life ; none who choose 
the better part shall have it taken away from them ; but then 
none can seek the Lord, unless he first seek them* None can 
come except it be given them of the Father ; — none can believe 
save as many as are ordained to eternal life ; none can choose 
Christ except he first choose them.t If again we consider the mag- 
nitude of the change w T hich must take place in every sinner's heart 
before he can truly and earnestly seek God, we shall be convinced 
that no part of it is properly his own. He must " be born again;"* 
he must "become a new creature ; old things must pass away, all 
things must become new ;"§ he must " pass from death unto life ;"|| 
"from darkness to light — from the power of Satan unto God ;' ? T 
" from going about to establish his own righteousness, to submit 
himself to the righteousness of God;"** and this to a proud carnal 
heart, is the most difficult of all. And w T ho is sufficient for these 

* John x. 16. Ezekiel xxxiv. 4. Luke xix. 10. Psalm cxix. 176. Ephes. ii. 13. 
f John vi. 65 ; xv. 16. Acts xiii. 48. t- ^id. iii. 3. 

$ 2 Cor. v. 17. II I John iii. 14. 

IT Acts xxvi. 11. 1 Peter ii. 9. ** Rom. x. 9. 




298 ON FREE GRACE. 

things ? Who but He that first formed us in the womb, can cause 
us to be bom again of the Spirit? Who but he that originally cre- 
ated us, is able to create us anew in Christ Jesus? Who but the 
Giver of natural life can give spiritual life ; " and quicken those that 
were dead in trespasses and sins?"* 

When the Lord of life stood by the grave of Lazarus, and said, 
Lazarus come forth, and he that was dead instantly came forth ; 
who would say that this act of lifting himself up was the cause of 
his coming to life, and not rather that his coining to life was the 
cause of his being able to lift himself up? It is thus when Jesus 
by his word and Spirit says to the heart of a sinner, "Awake, thou 
that sleepest, arise from the dead, and Christ shall give thee light."! 
Instantly that dead soul arises, and its first act is seeking, or 
prayer : but this same act of seeking is the effect of spiritual life, 
not the cause. We pray because toe are alive, not that we may 
live. We cannot quicken ourselves when dead in sin, any more 
than we can bring a dead body to life. But when Jesus has quick- 
ened us, we shall as surely perform all those actions, which demon- 
strate the soul to be spiritually alive, as a dead body when raised 
by divine power, will surely perform all the functions of a living 
person. Grace, great grace must be infused, to enable us to seek 
at all, and he who first gave grace to seek, will give more grace in 
answer to that seeking, thus fulfilling that precious Scripture, 
which saith, " To him that hath, shall be given. "J We neither 
begin nor carry on the work of grace in our own hearts. Jesus is 
the author and finisher, the Alpha andOmcga of our faith. From 
the first spark of grace that faintly glimmers upon us here, to the 
full blaze of glory which shall burst upon us in heaven ; all. all is 
his doing- ; it is he that made us alive (spiritually.) not we our- 
selves. It is God who both begins the good work in us, and also 
will " perform it unto the day of Jesus Christ."§ 

I cannot quit this subject without averting to the very strong 
words in which our Church insists upon it throughout the whole 
service, perpetually reminding us that from God all holy desires, as 
well as good counsels, and all just works do proceed. In the Col- 
lect for Sexagesima Sunday : ' O Lord God, who seest that we put 
not our trust in any thing that we do.' But we are putting our 
trust in something we do, if we are trusting to obtain God's promi- 
ses on any conditions of our own performing ; and we are again utter- 
ing a solemn mockery in the second Collect in Lent, 'Almighty 
God, who seest that we have no power of ourselves to help our- 
selves.' In the Collect for Easter-day, we acknowledge that it is 
God who 'by his special grace preventing us, doth put into our 
minds good desires, and that we need his continual help to bring 
the same to good effect.' In the 4th Sunday after Easter : — 'Al- 
mighty God, who alone canst order the unruly wills and affections 
of sinful men, grant unto thy people, that they may love the thing 

* Eph. ii. 1. t Ibi(3 - v - !4. ± Matt. xiii. 12. 

§ Phil. i. 6. 



ON FREE GRACE. 299 

which thou commandest, and desire that which thou dost promise.' 
In the 5th — l Grant that by thy holy inspiration we may think 
those things that be good, and by thy merciful guiding may per- 
form the same.' In the 1st after Trinity — 'Because through the 
weakness of our mortal nature we can do no good thing without 
thee, grant us the help of thy grace.' In the 3rd after Trinity — 
'We, to whom thou hast given an hearty desire to pray.' In the 
9th after Trinity — ' Grant to us the spirit to think and do always 
such things as be rightful ; that we who cannot do any thing that 
is good without thee, may by thee be enabled to live according to 
thy will.' In the 13th after Trinity — • Almighty and merciful God, 
of whose only gift it cometh that thy faithful people do unto thee 
true and laudable service, &c.' It appears to me that this collect is 
a peculiarly beautiful lesson ; it so strongly sets forth the doctrine 
of which I am speaking, and so wisely guards it from abuse, ac- 
knowledging in the plainest terms, that as we cannot obtain the 
promises by a holy life, so neither can we obtain them without it. 
In the 17th after Trinity we pray that < his grace may always 
prevent and follow us. and make us continually to be given to good 
works.' In the 19th — ■' O God, forasmuch as without thee, we are 
not able to please thee.' In the 25th — ' Stir up, we beseech thee,' 
&c. But I will not take up more time in multiplying testimonies 
from this most evangelical service. If these do not prove that our 
great reformers at least thought us utterly incapable of doing one 
thing acceptable in the sight of God, except by his free grace first 
of all putting the desire into our hearts, then enabling us to breathe 
out that desire in fervent prayer, and then fulfilling the desire and 
prayer of its own inspiring : if they do not mean that the work of 
salvation in the heart, is the work oi free and sovereign mercy, 
from beginning to end, I am at a loss to conceive what they do 
mean, or why they came there at all. 

It is absolutely necessary to a clear and full view of this doctrine 
that we ascribe to the free, sovereign and unmerited grace of 
God, the first desire after him that ever arose in our hearts, as well 
as the fulfilling of that desire when expressed in prayer. We must 
be convinced that nothing in the work of salvation is our own, but 
only the gift of God's love to us in Christ Jesus. Christ died for 
us when we were enemies :* the benefits of his death are applied to 
us, for the purpose of reconciling us, not in consequence of our mak- 
ing any advances towards being reconciled. He died for the ungodly, 
for those who were without strength ;t without strength to come to 
Him ; without strength to form so much as a wish to come to Him. 
The desire to come is given for His sake ; the ability to come is 
given for his sake : the acceptance on coming is an acceptance for 
the beloved sake of this beloved Saviour, " without, whom we can do 
nothing."! Those who say, l Grace will be given if w T e ask. but. then 
asking must precede or procure the given grace;' are in effect robbing 
God of much of the glory due unto His name. For the power and the 
* Rom. v. 10. t Ibid. v. 6. % John xv. 5. 



300 ON FREE GRACE. 

inclination to ask are of themselves a part of the free gift of God's 
grace to us in Christ Jesus. They are the beginning of God's work 
in the heart, and to say that we begin this work, is no other than 
to say that we can create ourselves anew in Christ Jesus. I will 
venture to affirm, that if God waited to give us His grace till we 
ask Him for it of our own accord, we should go without it to all 
eternity. 

The great source of error on this head, even amongst serious 
people, is, that they cannot bring themselves to think they have 
nothing of their own in the work of salvation. Therefore it is, 
that when constrained to acknowledge that the grace given them 
when they seek, is from God only ; their self-righteousness betakes 
itself to another strong-hold ; and we find them laying claim to 
their asking and seeking, as if that at least was the effort of their 
own will, the spontaneous act of their own power. This is just as 
if one should take a dead person by the hand, breathe life into him, 
and lift him up upon his feet ; and that person should make a show 
of acknowledgment to his benefactor, by allowing to that benefac- 
tor the praise of lifting him up after he was alive, and keeping him 
alive ever since, and yet should maintain that the first breath of 
all came into him by his own spontaneous act, by the effect of his 
own unassisted power. The absurdity of such an assertion, with 
regard to temporal life, would strike us at once ; but we are not so 
struck with it in reference to spiritual life; and the reason is this. 
When we talk of a dead carcass, we know what we are talking 
about. There it lays before our eyes, incapable of breathing, mov- 
ing, speaking. We perfectly know what we mean when we say 
that a dead body cannot raise itself to life. But when we speak 
of a soul dead in trespasses and sins, we too often use the phrase 
merely because we find it in the Scriptures; without the slightest 
conception of the awful reality expressed by it. Nor is it till we 
have ourselves in some measure passed from death unto life, that 
we begin to perceive the dreadful and close analogy which really 
exists between the two states of natural and spiritual death. If 
God were to come to an unconverted person with the question, not, 
Can these dry bones, but Can these dead souls live ! He would be 
apt to reply, Why not? What should hinder them from raising 
themselves up, and breathing the breath of spiritual life? But 
when God has quickened us from our own death in trespasses and 
sins, our eyes are opened to see what spiritual death really is, and 
then we learn with trembling awe to reply ; " Lord, thou know- 
est." This is thy work, it is thou that must make us alive and not 
we ourselves. 

Since then men are universally disposed to go about establishing 
their own righteousness, how carefully ought we to close up every 
evenue through which this besetting sin might gain admittance, 
and rob us of our peace, by leading us to rob Christ of his praise. 
Man y are the windings of our own treacherous hearts ; many are 
the devices of Satan by which he would tempt us to ascribe to our 



ON FREE GRACE. 301 

own strength, what God has done for us of his mere mercy. Nor 
let us think that a mistake here can be of trifling importance. 
God is very jealous for His great name ; and He has declared that 
if " we will not lay it to heart to give glory to His name," He will 
send a curse upon us, and will even "curse our blessings."* Many 
and glorious are (he crowns which adorn the sacred head of Im- 
manuel; let us not try to pluck thence the brightest and fairest of 
them all, for well does it become this King of kings. When we 
get to heaven, and receive the crown of glory, we shall be ready 
enough to cast that at His feet, and to say, Thou only are worthy. 
Let us do the same with the crown of grace here ; for surely we 
have as little to arrogate the one to ourselves as the other. 

A few words on a sentiment, not, it is to be hoped, very gene- 
rally prevalent : yet as we do find, even in what is called the relig- 
ious world, some who avowedly profess it, and many more who 
are secretly, perhaps unconsciously influenced by it : a brief notice 
of it may not be unnecessary. I allude to those who, finding the 
doctrine of free and sovereign grace very fully and strongly set 
forth in St. Paul's epistles, seem in all their arguments on the sub- 
ject to abate somewhat of the Divine authority of these epistles, 
and con line themselves to a few isolated statements from the Gos- 
pel, &c, which they deem more consonant to their own views and 
feelings. To such I would say, Saint Paul is no more responsible 
for the matter contained in his epistles, than you or I are. These 
are not, in fact, St. Paul's epistles : they are the epistles of God the 
Holy Ghost, faithfully transcribed and delivered to us by His ser- 
vant Paul. The Holy Ghost, speaking through the medium of 
Paul, cannot but speak in perfect unison with what He has declared 
through the medium of Peter or John, or any other of His inspired 
messengers. Fie may take up one instrument and lay down an- 
other, but the Spirit which speaks in them is the same. He may 
open the mouth of one of His servants to explain one mystery of 
His Gospel ; while He makes another more fully to dwell upon and 
unfold some other mystery: for He divideth unto every man 
severally as He will. But still the Spirit of the Lord is One. He 
cannot contradict himself, cannot speak contrary to truth, for he is 
the Spirit of Truth, and is given to lead us into all truth. And 
of the inspired penmen, one and all, we may say ; "Have they any 
power at all to say any thing ? The word that God put into their 
mouths that have they spoken. They could not go beyond the 
word of the Lord their God to say less or more.'''' 

We shall never become perfectly reconciled to all parts of the 
word of God until He Himself bestows on us the spirit and temper 
of a little child, to receive without murmuring, or disputings, or 
carnal reasonings, whatsoever JEHOVAH the Spirit is pleased 
to say to us. That Spirit alone can take away the evil heart of 
unbelief, which prevents us from embracing the whole counsel of 
God, as revealed in his word. It is he that must open our hearts 

* Malachi ii. 2. 



302 ON ELECTING GRACE. 

to attend to all the things written in his law. Then we shall per- 
ceive a connection and a harmony between every part and every 
doctrine of the Scriptures, which will fill us with ever-increasing won- 
der and delight. May he thus open our understandings to under- 
stand the Scriptures, and to know the things that are freely given 
to us of God. 



CHAPTER III. 

ON ELECTING GRACE. 

The 17th Article gives so much better an account of the doctrine 
of Election or Predestination, than could be expressed by any words 
of mine, that I beg leave to place it at the head of this chapter. 

£ Predestination to life is the everlasting purpose of God, where- 
by {before the foundations of the world were laid) he hath con- 
stantly decreed by his counsel, secret to us, to deliver from curse 
and damnation, those whom he hath chosen in Christ out of man- 
kind, and to bring them by Christ to everlasting salvation, as ves- 
sels made to honor. Wherefore they which be endued with so ex- 
cellent a benefit of God be called, according to God's purpose by 
his Spirit working in due season; they through grace obey (he 
calling ; they be justified freely, they be made sons of God by 
adoption: they be made like the image of his only begotten Son 
Jesus Christ : they walk religiously in good works, and at length, 
by God's mercy, they attain to everlasting felicity. 

' As the godly consideration of Predestination and our Election 
in Christ is full of sweet, pleasant and unspeakable comfort to 
godly persons, and such as feel in themselves the workings of the 
Spirit of Christ mortifying the works of the flesh, and their earthly 
members, and drawing up their mind to high and heavenly things 
as well because it doth greatly establish and confirm their faith 
of eternal salvation to be enjoyed through Christ, as because it 
doth fervently kindle their love towards God ; so far curious and 
carnal persons, lacking the Spirit of Christ, to have continually be- 
fore their eyes the sentence of God's predestination, is a most dan- 
gerous downfall, whereby the devil doth thrust them either into 
desperation or into recklessness of most unclean living, no less per- 
ilous that desperation. 

'Furthermore, we must receive God's promises in such wise as 
they be generally set forth to us in holy Scripture ; and in our 
doings, that will of God is to be followed, which we have expressly 
declared to us in the word of God.' 



ON ELECTING GRACE. 303 

The latter part of this article is awfully true, and the warning 
conveyed by it, should sink into every heart. But what then? 
Must godly persons renounce or suppress a doctrine clearly revealed 
in Scripture ; strongly enforced by the articles of a church of which 
they are professed members ; and full of sweet, pleasant and un- 
speakable comfort, merely because curious and carnal persons will 
" wrest it, as they do also the other scriptures, to their own destruc- 
tion ?"* At this rate we must renounce every Scripture truth ; for 
there is not one. which, while it is a savor of life unto life unto them 
that are saved, is not also a savor of death unto death to them that 
perish.t Therefore we must not be afraid to receive with humility 
and simplicity all that the Scriptures have revealed to us on this 
subject. Let us then as in a former chapter search this sacred word 
and see what testimony we can bring from the Three that bear 
record in Heaven. 

God the Father saith of himself by Moses, " that he will have 
mercy on whom he will have mercy," and "will have compassion 
on whom he w 7 ill have compassion. "+ God the Son has told us 
" that none can know the Father, save he to whomsoever the Son 
will reveal him."§ " That to some is given to know the mysteries 
of the kingdom of heaven, but to others it is not given ;"|| " that 
no man can come to him except it were given to him of the Fa- 
ther :"*![ " that all whom the Father giveth him, shall come to 
him,"** " that he will give eternal life to as many as God hath 
given him :"tt " that of all which the Father hath given him he 
will lose nothing, but will raise it up again at the last day fit " that 
many are called, but few chosen :' ? §§ " that God hath an elect people, 
whom he hath chosen :"l||| " that he will avenge his own elect r"^^ 
" that it is impossible finally to deceive his elect :"*** " that he will 
gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of hea- 
ven to the other :"ttt "that he calleth his own sheep by name,ttt 
and leadeth them out from sin and self; and will bring his other 
sheep which are yet unborn and they shall hear his voice, and 
that if any believe not. it is because they are not of his sheep :"§§§ 
that " we did not choose him, but he hath chosen us, and or- 
dained us, that we should go and bring forth fruit, and that our 
fruit should remain :"|||||| "that he knows whom he hath cho- 
sen :"1iT1T and that " his disciples are not. of the world, because he 
hath chosen them out of the world :"**** declares by the pen of St. 
Luke; that "the Lord added to the church such as should be 
saved — and that as many as are ordained to eternal life believe :"tttt 
by that of Peter : that " all God's people are elect by the fore- 
knowledge of God the Father, through sanctiflcation of the Spirit 

* 2 Peter, iii. 16. f 2 Cor - «• 15, 1G. £ Exod. xxxiii. 19. Rom. ix. 5. 

§ Matt. x. 27. II Ibid. xiii. 11. IT John vi. 65. 

** John vi. 37. ft Ib i d - xvii - 2 - # Ibid - vi - 39. 

§§ Matt. xx. 16; xxii. 14. Nil Mark xiii. 20. *fTTr Luke xviii. 7. 

*** Matt. xxiv. 24. fit IbitJ - xxiv - 31 - ttt John x - 3 - 

%() John x. 3, 16, 26. HUH Ibid. xv. 16. U1T1T Ibid. xiii. 18. 

**** John xv. 19. fit Acts u - 47 ; xiii. 47. 



304 ON ELECTING GRACE. 

unto obedience, and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ ;" that 
they are " a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a 
peculiar people ; that they should show forth the praises of Him 
who hath called them out of darkness into his marvellous light;" 
that " the God of all grace is He who hath called them into his 
eternal glory by Jesus Christ :"* by James ; that " God of his own 
will begetteih them with the word of truth," and that "known 
unto Him are all his works from the beginning of the world :"t 
(and if all, surely that most wondrous work, which is wrought 
every time God changes a sinner's heart) by Jude ; that "the saints 
are sanctified by God the Father, and preserved in Jesus Christ, and 
called :"t by the disciple whom Jesus loved, that " they are born 
again, not of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of 
God :" that they are "called, and chosen, and faithful; that their 
names are written in the book of life, from the foundation of the 
world ; that if we love God it is because He first loved us."§ But 
of all His faithful messengers, God the Holy Ghost hath made 
choice more especially of St. Paul to dilate upon, and unfold a doc- 
trine which might yet have been learnt from other Apostles, had 
the writings of St. Paul never existed ; a very small part of whose 
testimony is as follows: — " For whom He did foreknow, He also 
did predestinate, to be conformed to the image of His Son, that he 
might be the first-born among many brethren : moreover whom He 
did predestinate, them He also called ; and whom He called, them 
He also justified ; and whom He justified, them He also glorified ;"|| 
compare this with the 17th article above quoted, and say whether 
the Bible and the church do not unite in ascribing every step of 
our salvation to God only. " Wherefore there is a remnant ac- 
cording to the election of grace, and if by grace, then is it no more 
of works : otherwise grace is no more grace. But if it be of works 
then is it no more grace ; otherwise work is no more work."!" 

How plainly does the Lord the Spirit here testify the utter impos- 
sibility of mixing grace and works. He shows us that if the very 
least mixture of work could be admitted into the covenant, grace 
would change its nature, and cease to be grace. It must be all 
ivork, or all grace ; we cannot make a half-and-half covenant with 
God. He has offered us these two ; we must-be saved by the one,** 
or perish by the other. tt "Blessed be the God and Father of our 
Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings, 
in heavenly places in Christ, according as He hath chosen us in 
Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy 
and without blame before Him in love: having predestinated us 
into the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to Himself, according 
to the good pleasure of His will, to the praise of the glory of His 
grace, wherein He hath made us accepted in the beloved, being pre- 

* 1 Peter i. 2. ii. 9 ; v. 10. f James i. 18. Acts xv. 18. % Jude 1. 

§ John i. 13. Rev. xvii. 8, 14; xiii. 8; xx. 12, 15; xxi. 27. Luke x. 20. 1 John 

iv. 10. See also John xii. 39, 40. Ii Rom. xiii.' 29, 30. 

IT Rom. xi. 5, 6. ** Ephes ii. 8. ff Gal. iii. 10. 



ON ELECTING GRACS. 305 

destinated according to the purpose of Him who worketh all things 
after the counsel of His own will."* " Who hath saved us and 
called us with an holy calling, not according to our works, but ac- 
cording to His own purpose and grace, which was given us in Jesus 
Christ before the world began."t Time would fail me before I had 
done bringing forward Scripture testimonies to the doctrine of elec- 
tion ; it is so interwoven with every part of holy writ, that it is dif- 
ficult to take every part separately without impairing its effect. I 
will, therefore, only remark in conclusion, that our Lord uses the 
term chosen or elect no less than ten times in this sense in the New 
Testament, viz. Matt. xx. 16 ; xxii. 14; xxiv. 31. Mark xiii. 20, 
22, 27. Luke xviii. 7. John xiii. 18 ; xv. 16, 19 ; that it is of 
frequent occurrence in the writings of the Prophets and Apostles ; 
and that the word predestinate is used several times by the Apostle 
Paul. It appears to me also impossible to read the Gospel of St. 
John, or the Acts of the Apostles through, without perceiving that 
this doctrine runs like a rich vein through every passage. But 
while we are bound to embrace all that the Scriptures teach on 
this subject, we must cautiously guard against attempting to be 
wise above what is written, and we should do well to confine our- 
selves not only to the sense, but as much as possible to the very 
words of Scripture ; lest we should darken counsel by words with- 
out knowledge. Yet we must neither reject any part of the writ- 
ten Word of God, nor try to twist and turn it so as to make it 
square with our own notions. As it staiids, so we must re- 
ceive it: with meekness of love, without partiality, without gain- 
saying. 

Many are firmly persuaded of the truth of this doctrine, who 
yet shrink from declaring their conviction to others ; as if some dan- 
gerous effect were to be apprehended from its propagation. The 
folly of such an apprehension is well pointed out in the following 
words of an eminent reformer, which I cannot forbear giving, as 
they afford a specimen of the dignified simplicity, sound judgment, 
and close reasoning, which shine in almost every part of the Insti- 
tutes of Calvin ; a book which was held in repute as the finest 
apology for Protestantism that ever appeared, till the names of Cal- 
vin and Calvinist came to be held up as mere signs of a party in 
religion. ' The Scripture is the school of the Holy Spirit, in which 
as nothing necessary and useful to be known is omitted, so nothing 
is taught which is not beneficial to know. Whatever, therefore, is 
declared in the Scripture concerning predestination, we must be 
cautious not to withhold from the faithful, lest we appear either to 
defraud them of the favor of their God, or to reprove and censure 
the Holy Spirit, for publishing what it would be useful by any 
means to suppress. Let us, I say, permit the Christian man to 
open his heart and his ears to all the discourses addressed to him by 

* Ephes. i. 3—6. 11. 

f 2 Tim. i. 9. See also Rem. ix. 1 Cor. vi. 1 1. Gal. iv. 6. 1 Theas. ii. 12 ; iv. 7. 
2 Thess. i, 11, 12; ii; 13, 14. 2 Tim. ii. 19. Titus i. 1—3. 

20 



306 ON ELECTING GRACE. 

God ; only with this moderation, that as soon as the Lord closes 
His sacred mouth he shall also desist from farther inquiry. This 
will be the best barrier of sobriety, if in learning we not only fol- 
low the leadings of God, but as soon as He ceases to teach, we give 
up our desire of learning.' 'I only desire this general admission, 
that we should never scrutinize those things which the Scriptures 
have left concealed, nor reject those which are openly exhibited. 
For it is judiciously remarked by Augustine, that we may safely 
follow the Scripture, which proceeds like a mother stooping to the 
weaknesses of a child, that it may not leave our weak capacities 
behind. But persons who are so cautious or timid as to wish pre- 
destination to be buried in silence lest feeble minds should be dis- 
turbed, with what pretext, I ask, will they gloss over their arro- 
gance, which indirectly charges God with foolish inadvertency, as 
though He foresaw not the danger which they suppose they have 
the penetration to discover? Whoever, therefore, endeavors to 
raise prejudices against the doctrine of predestination, openly re- 
proaches God, as though something had inconsiderately escaped Him 
ihat is pernicious to His church.' 

I have been induced to give this extract at some length, because 
I never met with so beautiful a description of the sober spirit in 
which the doctrine of election, and indeed every other doctrine, 
ought (o be studied. And also because it shows the extreme folly 
of shutting our eyes against any revealed truth, for fear of its con- 
sequences. If " the man of God" would be " perfect, thoroughly 
furnished unto ail good works," he must study, with humble dili- 
gence, and receive with ready teachableness, every part of the re- 
vealed will of God. " For all Scripture is given by inspiration of 
God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for in- 
struction in righteousness."* 

And thus it is, that, while the doctrine of predestination is death 
to those who weary themselves in presumptuous disputings and 
reasonings about it, there always have been and will be a happy 
few, who humbly and sincerely feeding upon it, receiving all that 
the Scripture tells them concerning it, and desiring to know no 
further, find it health and peace to their souls. It lays them very 
low at the feet of their Redeemer ; brings down the high swelling 
of their pride and self-esteem ; pulls away from under them all those 
broken reeds upon which they had been used to lean, self-righte- 
ousness, self-will, self-dependence ; and leaves them no one prop on 
which to lean for support, whilst coming up out of this wilderness, 
but the arm of their beloved — that everlasting arm which will 
surely conduct them to glory. When that arm becomes shortened 
that it cannot save, or weak that it cannot support : when the arm 
of Jesus fails and is weary ; then they will begin to look around 
for some other stay ; but not till then. Or w T hen they, can discover 
in themselves one single good thing which Jesus did not put there ; 
one reason why he should visit them with such amazing love ; 

* 2 Timothy, iii. 16, 17. 



ON ELECTING GRACE. 307 

then they will conclude that His love took its rise from theirs, not 
theirs from His. But they never will discover one such thing, so 
long as the Spirit of God illumines their heart, and brings to light 
its immense depravity and worthlessness. Therefore, as God's love 
could not have been excited by any thing in them, they believe it 
to be an eternal love; that they were called in time, because they 
were chosen from eternity ; and that the name of Jesus is now en- 
graven as a seal upon their hearts, because their names were writ- 
ten on his heart before ever the world was. And when their 
thoughts stretch forward to the end of this pilgrimage, and they 
rejoice in the view of the mansions prepared for them in their Fa- 
ther's house, the crown of that rejoicing is this : '• we got not the 
land in possession by our own strength, neither did our own arm 
save us, but thy right hand, and thy arm, and the light of thy 
countenance, because thou hadst a favor unto us."* " Thus they re- 
joice in Christ Jesus, and have no confidence in the flesh ;" for "God 
is the glory of their strength, and in His favor their horn is exalted." 

I cannot pretend to meet the objections, or to refute the cavils 
commonly raised, when this doctrine of election is made the sub- 
ject of discussion ; for I did not learn it in the way of carnal rea- 
sonings, but by simpiy taking the Scriptures as I found them, and 
as the Spirit of God enabled me to receive them. If St. Paul, after 
descanting on this subject breaks off in an ecstasy of admiration, 
exclaiming, " how unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways 
past finding out !" we need not wonder if our shallow understand- 
ing are incapable of fathoming, our limited capacities of compre- 
hending, our low minds of reaching them. We must be satisfied 
with believing that it is even so, because " so it seemed good in our 
Father's sight,"t whatever it may appear in ours. This reason, 
which appeared satisfactory to our Saviour, may surely satisfy us; 
or if not, he has vouchsafed an assurance, which may well serve to 
repress present inquiry into things too high for us. "What I do, 
thou knowest not now, but thou shalt know hereafter."* 

That these things are so, I believe, because I find them amongst 
the revealed things which belong to us and our children forever. 
How or why they are so, I desire not too closely to inquire, lest I 
should intrude into the secret things which belong unto the Lord 
our God. O that he would give unto every one of us that hum- 
ble and teachable spirit with which a little ignorant child is con- 
tent to receive his father's lessons, without rudely commenting 
upon his father's ways, or rashly intruding into his father's se- 
crets ! This one thing we know, and with this we may be satis- 
fied : that the Judge of all the earth cannot but do right. But it 
were preposterous to expect that he should always do that which 
is right in our eyes, so long as our notions of right and wrong are 
so utterly confused and perverted as they have been ever since the 
fall. He himself tells us that the Lord seeth not as man seeth ; 
and that " that which is highly esteemed among men is abomi- 

* Psalm xliv. 3. f Matt. xi. 26. i John xiii. 7. 



308 ON ELECTING GRACE. 

nation in the sight of God."* It cannot be, so long- as his ways are 
equal, and ours unequal, that his righteous dealings should be in 
exact accordance with our unrighteous views and sentiments. In- 
stead, then, of wearying ourselves with impotent attempts to bring 
down his will and counsel to the level of our ideas, our far wiser 
way will be, to submit our thoughts and ideas to his will, assured 
that it is holy, just, and good. Yet, since we should be ready to 
give a reason for every hope that is in us, I will venture to touch 
on some of the most hackneyed objections to this glorious doctrine ; 
and I pray God that he will help me to show their exceeding van- 
ity and futility. 

The objection most frequently urged against the doctrine of pre- 
destination is, that it seems to charge the Almighty with injustice 
and caprice ; for if the doom of every person be irrevocably fixed 
before he comes into the world, why is he punished for what he 
cannot help? And is it not accusing God of a strange partiality, 
to suppose him capable of rejecting some and choosing others, be- 
fore they have done any thing to draw down his wrath, or to con- 
ciliate his favor ? Now to this objection, as involving the honor of 
his own name, God himself has deigned to provide us with a suffi- 
cient answer. M Thou wilt then say unto me, why doth be yet find 
fault? For who hath resisted his will? Nay — but, O man, who 
art thou that repliest against God? Shall the thing formed say to 
him that formed it, why hast thou made me thus? Hath not the 
potter power over the clay, of the same lump to make one vessel 
unto honor and another unto dishonor? What, if God, willing to 
show his wrath, and to make his power known, endured with much 
long suffering the vessels of wrath fitted to destruction ; and that 
he might make known the riches of his glory on the vessels of 
mercy which he had afore prepared unto glory ?"f 
' The justice of God in predestination would appear sufficiently 
clear, if we would but take a fair and impartial view of our own 
state by nature: that this world is a guilty and ruined world ; 
and that every creature born into it has a sinful nature born with 
him, which lays him under the just and dreadful sentence of eter- 
nal death. Now, if God foreknew from all eternity, that the chil- 
dren of men would thus become the children of wrath — -and de- 
termined from all eternity, to save a remnant according to the elec- 
tion of grace ; where is the injustice of this proceeding ? Is it that 
ne did not determine to save all, instead of some only ? But alas ! 
that all are not saved, is a truth of which even the opposers of 
election must acknowledge their sad conviction. It is that he was 
influenced entirely by free and distinguishing grace, that he chose 
the favored remnant according to his counsel and will ; and not 
on account of any merit of theirs in seeking or in serving Him ? 
But where is the distinction of merit to be found? It exists no 
where but in the distempered imagination of men. This merit, 
which men talk about, God cannot find ; and he has nowhere ac- 

* Luke xvi. 15. f Rotn - ix - 19 > 23- Job xxxii 12 : 13 > 23 5 xl - 2 > 8 - Isaiah xlv - °- 



ON ELECTING GRACE. 309 

knowledged its existence. For there is no difference, " for all have 
sinned:" "all the world is guilty before God." We know that 
"the whole world lieth in wickedness."* It appears then that 
whether we uphold or oppose the doctrine of predestination, we 
must agree in acknowledging that all men are not saved. And if 
this be the case — if God have determined to save some from wrath ; 
and if, for reasons to us inscrutable, he have determined not to save 
all ; by what motive, I ask, could his choice be directed where all 
are equally guilty ; all, like sheep, have gone astray ? where 
none can repent or turn to Him, unless He gives the grace to do 
so; and what is that but choosing them? Reason itself tells us 
that the Scripture account of this mystery can alone be the true 
one — viz., " that God has mercy on whom he will have mercy ;" 
"that he has compassion on whom he will have compassion." 
That "it is not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth ; but 
of God that showeth mercy." That God begets us of his own 
will. That the saints are elect according to the foreknowledge of 
God. That they are predestinated unto the adoption of children 
by Jesus Christ unto himself: according to the good pleasure of 
his will : "being predestinated according to the purpose of Him 
who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will? Thus 
much we know, because thus much is revealed to us in the oracles 
of truth. But at this point we must stay our inquiries. For we 
are as incapable of entering into the reasons of God's dealing with 
us, any farther than he has deigned to unfold them, as an infant 
is to enter into the counsels of a full grown man. Yes ; and a great 
deal more so. For the one is but the difference between the finite 
and finite — between worm and worm ; but this is the difference 
between finite and infinite — between the worm and God. 

The case, plainly stated, appears to be this. All are sinners. 
Not only so; but all love sin, and drink up iniquity like water. 
All say in their hearts to God — " depart from us, for we desire not 
the knowledge of thy \vays."t Therefore every individual of the 
human race, without one single exception, is in a slate of condemna- 
tion before God — a state from which he has neither the poioer nor 
the will to extricate himself. The whole world lieth in wickedness — 
it lieth under the curse, and most justly deserveth the curse which 
God has pronounced against " every one who continueth not in all 
things that are written in the book of the law to do them."+ The 
whole, therefore, of Adam's race, considered as sinners, maybe con- 
sidered as, by nature, m a" state of reprobation. But blessed forever 
be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, He would not display 
his justice in the destruction of a whole ivorld of sinners. He de- 
termined to show also the riches of his glory on certain vessels of 
mercy, whom he had afore prepared unto glory. He chose some of 
those worthless and guilty things, called men, the vessels of his 
mercy. He chose these children of wrath to become the children 
of grace. He chose them in Christ Jesus long before the founda- 

* Rom. iii. 19, 22, 23. 1 John i. 10. -j- Job. xxi. 14. $ Gal. iii. 10. 



310 ON ELECTING GRACE. 

tion of the world, he has been calling those chosen vessels (as the 
time appointed for each came) out from this world ; giving his Son 
to redeem, and his Spirit to sanctify them, and himself to be their 
portion forever. Does this wonderful display of His mercy upon a 
part of Adam's hell-deserving race, take way his right of executing 
justice upon the remainder of that race? Should we say, why 
did he not pardon all, when we ought to be amazed at His mercy 
in not having condemned all ? It is of his mercies that we are not 
all consumed: well may it be asked, who are we that we stand 
thus replying against God? When all are as brands Jit for t he 
burning : if God chose to pluck some as brands out of the fire, shall 
we say that this act of mercy renders less just the destruction of 
those who are left. ? 

Mercy is offered to all, (at least in Christian lands ;) but such is 
the desperate malignity of sin, such is the enmity of the heart to 
God, that all, if left to their own free will (as it is called,) would 
shut their ears and hearts against every overture of reconciliation. 
God, by his special grace, opens the ears and hearts of a chosen 
remnant, to attend to and embrace the glad tidings of salvation. 
They come to Jesus, because the Father draws them ; and because 
they come, He saves them to the uttermost. Does all this dimin- 
ish the wickedness of those who do not come? or detract from 
God's justice in punishing them for not coming? He sends his Son 
to man with the largest proffers of mercy. His long-suffering en- 
dures them, spares them, waits upon them, till it has been proved 
to men and angels, that such is the perverseness of man's will that 
he will not accept of life. Then He gives them over to the natu- 
ral and necessary consequences of their own choice. But all are 
not thus given over: a remnant, a seed is chosen in Christ, in 
whom, to show forth his oion glory ', he subdues the rebellious will, 
takes away the natural equity, and accepts them, not for their own 
sake, but for Christ's. 

To sum up what has been said, the condemnation of mankind 
is a just and deserved condemnation : the salvation of the rem- 
nant chosen out from mankind is a free and undeserved salvation. 
Every man shall have perfect justice done to him ; and if in the 
case of some, justice and mercy have met together, let no one 
dare to murmur, for God has a right to do what he will with his 
own. 

If, after all these considerations, the doctrine of election still seems 
to imply injustice and partiality in God's dealings toward us, I would 
ask, is there any other scheme upon which his dealings can be made 
less mysterious and inexplicable? Are the difficulties which sur- 
round predestination more insurmountable than those which pre- 
sent themselves in every part of the providential dispensations of 
God? Might not the same temper which objects to the electing 
grace of God, carp also at his injustice and partiality in revealing 
to England the abundance of light and truth, while he has left so 
many dark places in the earth full of the habitations of cruelty? 



ON ELECTING GRACE. 311 

Might not such persons arraign his equity in giving to some every 
possible advantage of a religious education, and leaving others to 
every possible disadvantage of an irreligious one ? Or (for there 
are no bounds to the presumptous spirit of inquiry) why do they 
not at once take the Almighty to task for having suffered evil to 
get into the world at all % For it is certain than evil has got into 
the world ; and its existence is, after all, the great difficulty ; of 
which the opposers of predestination can give us no better account 
than the believers in this doctrine are able to do; for we know noth- 
ing but what the Scriptures have revealed to us ; and if they have 
not gone back to the origin of evil, the reason must be, that instruc- 
tion on that point was not necessary for us. 

But I stop ; he that reproveth God, let him answer it. All these 
mysteries can be accounted for only by referring them to the inscru- 
table mystery of God's predestination. To the eye of carnal rea- 
son they lie involved in the thickest obscurity ; but the eye of faith 
sees in them no darkness at all. For faith, instead of vainly striv- 
ing to pull these things down to the level of reason, so far above 
reason ; resolves every difficulty into the gracious will or wise per- 
mission of God, and seeks to know no farther. How many things 
are there which I know not, nor can by any searching find out to 
perfection ! But Jesus knows them all. With this assurance I sit 
down fully satisfied. He will teach them to me hereafter, as I am 
able to bear it. In the meantime I will trust, and not be afraid. 
All that my God says to me I will implicitly believe, for I know 
that every word of God is pure. " All the words of his mouth are 
in righteousness : there is nothing fro ward or perverse in them : 
they are all plain to him that understandeth, and right to them that 
find knowledge."* When I come to see God as he is, and to know 
as I myself am known, I shall find that all these mysteries of his 
word and will were only 'dark with excessive light.' In the mean- 
time, till I have the eagle eye that can gaze undazzled at his glo- 
ries, I will view them at humble distance through the glass of 
faith, which he has given me for this purpose ; nor will I dare to 
repine, because "I can only see them in a glass darkly ."t Thus 
faith removes every objection, stills every murmur, and silences 
every doubtful thought. I have dwelt the longer upon this sub- 
ject, from a conviction that the grand reason with most people for 
rejecting the doctrine of election, is, not that they cannot find it 
in the Bible, but that being unable to reconcile it to their own 'pre- 
conceived and imperfect notions of equity and fitness, they come 
to the Bible predetermined not to find it there. 

But another, and a heavy charge too, is brought against this doc- 
trine : that it encourages people to continue in sin. The same 
charge was brought against free grace in the days of the Apostle 
Paul; and is answered fully in the sixth chapter of his epistle to 
the Romans. See also Rom. iii. 8, 31. It cannot be denied that 
there are some wretched persons who turn the grace of God into 
* Prov. viii. 8, 9. | 1 Cor - xiii - !2. 



312 ON ELECTING GRACE. 

licentiousness ; but it is the grace of God for all that, and, as such, 
cannot have an unholy tendency. We are not the less commanded 
to stand fast in the liberty wherewith Christ has made us free, be- 
cause some use this liberty only as an occasion to the flesh, only 
for a cloak of maliciousness. Such persons would suck poison and 
death from the very tree of life. But real believers in the doctrine 
of election, I mean those who derive their ideas on it from the Bi- 
ble only, and measure every thing by this standard, have not so 
learned Christ. They know that. "God hath not called them to 
uncleanness, but. to holiness."* They know that "whom God fore- 
knew, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his 
So?i ;"t and therefore they search themselves daily, to see whether 
this pure — this holy image be forming in their hearts. They know 
that if God " chose them before the foundation of the world :" it 
was " that they might be holy and without blame before him in 
love ;"t and therefore they are encouraged to be importunate with 
him for more of that holy, blameless, and loving temper, to which 
he has chosen them. Thus they have " the witness in them- 
selves :"§ they have -'the earnest of the Spirit :"|| they knOvV that 
they ane sons, " because God has sent forth the spirit of his Son 
into their hearts : v % they know God's love to them — by their love 
to Him. They look upon their own good works as the fruit of 
God's electing love — not as the root from whence it sprang ; and 
far from considering them as any part of the payment of their 
mighty debt, they receive them as a fresh load of obligation, for 
which they will still be owing him more and more to all eternity. 
Yet they know full well that good works are necessary as the evi- 
dences of their election ; for how can they tell that Christ abideth 
in them except by the spirit which he has given them? In propor- 
tion then as they find their hearts panting after holiness, in that 
very proportion they are enabled to maintain the sweet assurance 
that God has chosen them to be partakers of his holiness. Thus 
they give all diligence to make their calling and election sure : that 
is, not to make God sure whether he will elect and call them ; but 
to make themselves sure whether God has elected and called them. 
Nearly allied to this objection, is one raised by many against the 
doctrine of election, that it either lifts men up with an over-ween- 
ing arrogance and presumption ; or else causes them to sink into 
the depths of despair. But when a poor sinful creature feels his 
heart running over with sorrow for sin. and desires after holiness ; 
when his soul, once taken up with the world, is now absorbed in 
the love of Jesus, so as to desire nothing besides him in heaven or 
in earth : whether is it more arrogant to say, I turned myself from 
sin unto God ; or to say, God of his infinite mercy turned me 7 
To say, I myself sought God out and chose him, and therefore he 
accepted me ; or to say, God sought me out because he had chosen 
me in Christ Jesus before the world began ; and, therefore, I am 

* 1 Thess. iv. 7. t Rom. viii 29. % Ephes. i. 4. 

§ 1 John. v. 10. II 2 Cor. i. 22; v. 5. IT Gal. iv. 6. 



ON ELECTING GRACE. 313 

now enabled to seek and choose him? And as every redeemed 
sinners knows that the love he feels in his heart to God was none 
of his own implanting: for ail that he could produce was only en- 
mity and more enmity : is it so very presumptuous to conclude, 
that he loves God, because God first loved him ? Rather, would 
it not be the height of presumption to contradict Scripture and 
common sense, by making the opposite conclusion? And, if we 
allow the truth of St. John's assertion, that if we love God, it is 
because he first loved us — whence shall we date the commencement 
of this love? Was it some sudden impulse that came into his mind 
unawares and u??foreknoivn, as human imaginations arise? Did 
it begin at our birth, or spring up at the moment of our conversion 1 
What! could not Omniscience foreknow the objects of his love? 
Must he wait till the work of his own hands is brought upon the 
stage of existence, before he can tell how it will turn out? or 
whether he is making a vessel to honor, or one to dishonor? a vessel 
of mercy, or a vessel of wrath ? Will those, who charge believers in 
election with arrogance, explain how they themselves, without the 
greatest arrogance, can assert that Omniscience cannot, or will not 
foresee ; and that Omnipotence cannot or will not decide the fate 
of His own creatures ? For, if we love God because he first 
loved us, and if this love of His was not from all eternity, then 
there must be a time when he did not love us : that is, there must have 
been a time when either the mind of the unchangeable God, was 
different from what it is now ; or else a time when the Almighty 
and All-knowing God could not foresee the objects of his favor ; 
or ivas unable to make up his mind whether he would love them 
or not. The difficulties, which absurdities like these present on 
every side, are far greater, and consequently far more dangerous, 
than those which attend the plain Bible truth, that "it is not of 
him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that show- 
eth mercy:" and that the saints were chosen in Christ before the 
foundation of the world. As long as 1 have the Bible in my hand, 
I cannot think the thoughts and counsels of the Eternal are the 
mere creatures of a day ; the offspring of time and chance, veering 
about with every change of our most changeable hearts. I must 
conclude that, like their Supreme Author they stretch from eter- 
nity to eternity : and it is only the belief that they were th us from 
everlasting, that emboldens me to hope that they will stand firm 
to everlasting. Again, is it more arrogant to say that God's love 
to us took its origin from any good thing perceived or foreseen in 
us ; or to say that every good thing that ever has appeared, or shall 
appear in us, takes its origin from this infinite — this eternal — this 
incomprehensible love of God? I desire indeed no other account 
of the connection subsisting between God's love to me, and mine to 
Him, than that which He has himself vouchsafed to give : ' ; I have 
loved thee with an everlasting love : therefore with loving-kindness 
have I drawn thee."* 

* Jer. xxxi. 3. 



314 ON ELECTING GRACE. 

How can a doctrine be said lo encourage presumption and arro- 
gance, which strips off every pretension to assist in saving ourselves, 
and sends us naked, empty, and helpless to the cross of Christ ; 
leaving us no plea, except His free unmerited grace and mercy? 
What more humbling, than a doctrine which is perpetually remind- 
ing us, "Who maketh thee to differ from another?" and "what 
hasi thou that thou didst not receive? Now, if thou didst re- 
ceive it, why dost thou glory as if thou hadst not received it?"* 
But the great charge against believers in predestination seems to be 
that they think themselves predestined to salvation, and adjudge 
all the rest of the world to eternal misery. God forbid ! they dare 
not take upon themselves to judge others ; yea, they judge not 
their own selves, except by that unerring word which God has 
given them for this purpose : — (of course, I only speak of sincere 
Christians ; false professors will pervert this, as well as every other 
dooirine.) It is true, that many happy souls are enabled to triumph 
in full assurance of faith ; and to say with St. Paul, " Who loved 
me, and gave himself for »ie."t But these, as I have before said, 
venture to think themselves the elect people of God, only because 
they find the character of God's elect deeply engraven on their 
hearts. " They cry unto him night and day. '''J They love much, 
whence arises a sure and well-founded hope that much has been 
forgiven them. But this very circumstance forbids them to de- 
spair of others. Set before them the vilest, the most hardened sin- 
ner ; such a one as the righteous and moral of this world would 
separate from their company; and they would say, J But for the 
free mercy of God, I had been as vile as he. Never was there a 
darker, or a colder, or a harder heart, than mine was by nature. 
If then God has shinedinto my dark heart, made my cold heart to 
burn with love, melted my heart into a willing obedience ; why 
may I not hope that He will do the same for this poor sinner be- 
fore me? Divine grace has not yet called him, but it may do so 
this very day : nay, who knows but God may have appointed me 
to be the happy, humble instrument of his conversion? Therefore 
I will use every means, though it may seem as hopeless as Ezekiel's 
preaching to the dry bones. I will plant and water, for though / 
cannot command an increase, God can.h In the morning I will 
sow my seed, and in the evening I will not withhold my hand, for 
I know not w 7 hich means shall prosper, this or that, or whether my 
God will bless both alike. II 

Thus, far from causing us to despair of the salvation of others, 
or to be careless in using every means of doing them good, this be- 
lief in God's electing love, is the only thing that can set us to work 
with any rational hope of success. For if the changing of a sin- 
ner's heart depend upon our own exertions, or upon His disposition to 
benefit by our persuasion : the task of addressing him will be a 
hopeless and a thankless one indeed. But if God have from the 

* 1 Cor. iv. 7. t Gal. ii. 20. % Luke xviii. 7. 

§ 1 Rom. iii. 6, 7. II Eccl. xi. 6. 



ON ELECTING GRACE. 315 

beginning chosen that sinner unto salvation, (and we have no 
right to infer otherwise) he has also appointed the means whereby 
this salvation shall be effected, and those means shall be blessed, 
though every human probability be against them. Let not then a 
doctrine be denounced as uncharitable, which excites its followers 
to be always abounding in every labor of love, by the certain as- 
rance it affords them, that their labor shall not be vain in the 
Lord. It must not be denied that they are afraid to give flattering 
titles, or to appear to think well of the spiritual condition of those 
in whom, as yet, they can perceive none of the things which ac- 
company salvation. To be thus saying, ' Peace, peace/ when there 
is no peace, is what the world calls being very kind and charita- 
ble: but the Bible calls it "hating our brother in our heart."* 
This charity, so highly esteemed among men, is abomination in the 
sight of God. But that love, which the Holy Ghost sheds abroad 
in the hearts of his people, constrains them to overstep the narrow 
bounds of worldly kindness and courtesy. It causes rivers of 
waters to run down their eyes, for those who keep not God's law. 
And while they weep and pray for them, they dare not but tell them 
of their danger. But do they urge them to despair ? Far, far 
from it. To despair indeed of help from themselves, from every 
thing short of Jesus Christ ; but not to despair of His willingness to 
receive and pardon them ! They tell sinners that His arms are wide 
open to embrace all who come to him, and they lift up their pray- 
ers unto God, that he would make them come to Jesus. They tell 
them that he is able to save to (he uttermost ; that with him there 
is plenteous redemption ; that he waits to be gracious. Yes, they 
beseech them in Christ's name to be reconciled to God. Nor do 
they beseech the less fervently, because they know that the grace of 
God alone can give effect to their persuasions. Not the less ear- 
nestly do they assure sinners, that there is mercy for them, if they 
will but lay hold on it; grace for them, if they will but ask for it; 
grace to pardon all their sins, and to subdue them ; but not grace 
to pardon sin without subduing it: this they dare not say; and 
therefore it is, that the very same persons who charge them with 
holding doctrines which tend to encourage sin, will often, by a strange 
inconsistency, accuse them of unnecessary strictness and moroseness 
in decrying the innocent pleasures of the world. As if the pleasures 
of a world lying in wickedness could be altogether innocent; or as 
if they could afford any real enjoyment to a soul which daily quenches 
its thirst at a fountain of delights which the world knows not of — 
a soul possessing spiritual tastes and desires : in short " which is not 
of the world, even as Jesus was not of the world. "t 

We now come to the remaining part of the above-mentioned 
charge against election, viz., that it drives people to despair. A 
wrong and carnal view of it may ; but a right and spiritual recep- 
tion of it is the surest preservative against despair. For if God is 
to love us for something in ourselves, sure I am, that he will never 
* Lev. xix. 17. t John xvii. 16. 



316 ON ELECTING GRACE. 

love us at all : for in us dwelleth no good thing. But if he loves 
us according to his own good will and pleasure, then is our eternal 
happiness secure. Again, if we come to Jesus of ourselves, I see 
no reason to hope that we shall endure unto the end. The frailty 
and inconsistency of our nature render it more than probable that 
we shall again go away from him. Arid thus this everlasting love, 
if it depend on our conduct, must vary according to our changeable 
affections ; and that Jesus, who is the same yesterday, to-day, and 
forever, may love us one day, and cast us off the next ; may be 
disposed this day to say to us, "come, ye blessed of my Father," 
and the very next day may frown us from his presence with "de- 
part, ye cursed." Is not this discouraging? On the other hand, 
if we come to Jesus, because the Father hath given us to Jesus, 
and himself draws us to Jesus, then we may be assured that he will 
hold in last to the end ; for he who is the truth has declared that, 
" of all whom the Father hath given him he will not lose one, but 
will raise them up again at the last day."* 

When any one feels his heart drawn in strong desires after God, 
what can be more contrary to despair than a doctrine which teaches 
him to believe that he never could have been thus drawn, unless God 
had love:l him with an everlasting love? If, indeed, believers in 
election professed to pry into the secrets of futurity ; to open the 
Lamb's book of life, and tell which names are written there, and 
which are blotted thence; such unwarrantable presumption would 
lead to the most frightful consequences. But on the contrary, 
they well know that (hey cannot say of the vilest sinner, this man 
is not a chosen vessel unto the Lord ; therefore they hope against 
hope, and strong in faith, giving glory to God, they go on, regardless 
of every discouragement, inviting sinners to come to Him, and as- 
suring them that " whosoever will, may come and take of the water 
of life freely ."f 

Feebly as I have handled this intensely interesting subject, I trust 
I have said enough to prove that the doctrine of predestination, if 
we cleave simply to the Scripture statement concerning it, does not 
draw after it all the train of evils which have been represented as 
its necessary consequences ; that it involves no injustice on the part 
of God; that it neither drives men into licentiousness, presumption, 
uncharitableness, nor despair. On the contrary, that a simple re- 
ception of it tends to stop every cavil against God's justice ; affords 
the strongest incentives to holiness and self-abasement ; and is 
rather fitted to fill the bosom with the sweetest hope, than to render 
it the gloomy abode of despair. 

But supposing even that no satisfactory answer could be found 
to these and other objections, still it is our duty as believers in the 
Bible ever to bear in mind that the most plausible objections against 
a doctrine do by no means amount to a refutation of its truth. 
For " the things of the Spirit of God are foolishness to the natural 
man," and even those who are in some degree spiritual, must often 
* John vi. 39. t R ev - ™- H. 



ON ELECTING GRACE. 317 

feel that they are but " fools, and slow of heart to understand" the 
deep counsels of God. The real question then for our considera- 
tion, as believers in the truth of God's word, is not, whether a doc- 
trine be liable to this or that objection ; but whether it be, or be 
not clearly revealed in that word. If it be not a part of the will 
of God revealed to us in the Scriptures, then must it be utterly ab- 
horred and rejected, though an angel from heaven were to preach 
it to us. But if the doctrine be plainly laid down, and strongly 
insisted on in the Bible, what signify objections, and dreaded con- 
sequences 'i Ail that is in God's word we are bound to receive and 
teach, without fear of consequences. The truths which God has not 
scrupled to reveal, we need not scruple to embrace, nay, we must 
embrace them with meekness and affection ; as a part of that in- 
grafted word which is able to save our souls. We may safely leave 
the consequences to Him. He is abundantly able without our help 
to provide against any evil results that may ensue from a doctrine 
of his own revealing. Let us not seek to be wiser than God. 

To conclude ; we contend not for the doctrine of election, as held 
by this or that particular sect; or even as handed down to us in the 
strong and beautiful language of the reformers of our church ; but 
simply and solely as it is set forth in the very words of the oracles 
of God, that is, in the words of God himself. We cannot be too 
careful to expound our views of this doctrine, in the very words, 
as well as according to the exact sense of Scripture: then, if any 
differ, and would convince us of error, they must find some other 
Scriptures, in which the truths contained in ours are omitted. For 
let it be remembered, that as long as we keep close to the Bible, we 
are not answerable for the objections that may be made against the 
Bible. If the doctrine can be proved to be there, that ought abun- 
dantly to suffice for the conviction of those who believe that all 
Scripture was written by the inspiration of God. When God 
speaks, man's part is to submit, not to object. To oppose or deny 
any thing that is revealed in God's word, is to make God a liar. 
To cavil or murmur at it. is to rebel against God. To be ashamed 
or afraid of it, is to call in question the goodness and wisdom of 
God in revealing it. To receive it as little children, and humbly 
pray for light to understand it, is the way to become wise unto 
salvation. Let those who profess to believe the Bible, instead of 
wearying themselves with carnal reasonings for and against the 
doctrine of predestination, meekly consult their Bibles, and see 
whether the doctrine be there or not. And may the Spirit of truth 
lead them into the saving knowledge of this and every other truth, 
for His mercies' sake in Christ Jesus ! 

It was my intention to have concluded this little treatise with a 
few words on the final perseverance of God's elect : but this doc- 
trine is so clearly implied in that of predestination, that it seems 
unnecessary to dwell on it very largely. For it is impossible to 
conceive that God will cast off in time those whom He has chosen 
from eternity. Perseverance is a necessary consequence of predes- 



318 ON ELECTING GRACE. 

tination, and accordingly we find that the Scriptures generally 
mention them in connection with, and in dependence on, each 
other. It is thus clearly expressed in John vi. 37. 39, 44, 65, " no 
man can come to me except the Father which hath sent me draw 
him ; except it were given him of my Father. All that the Fa- 
ther givelh me shall come to me. This is the Father's will which 
hath sent me, that of all which he hath given me I should lose 
nothing- but should raise it up again at the last day." Again, 
John xv. L6, " ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, that 
ye should go and bring forth fruit :" here is election: "and that 
your fruit should remain ;" here is perseverance. "Moreover, 
whom He did predestinate, them he also called: and whom He 
called, them He also justified : and whom He justified, them He also 
glorified."* So then, if there be truth in God's word, those who are 
predestinated, are in every instance, without exception, called, jus- 
tified, and finally glorified : and this could not be, if they did not 
persevere to the last ; for he only that " endureth to the end shall be 
saved. "t Indeed, how absurd, how impossible it is to separate these 
two truths ! For if the saints are thus elect according to the fore- 
knowledge of God; and if they are yet subject to fall away, and 
perish at the last : then is the foreknowledge of God subject to fail ; 
and his predestination or purpose from all eternity, to be frustrated. 
We may therefore comfort our souls in the full assurance " that 
faithful is he that callefh us, who also will do it." That " God is 
faithful, by whom we were called into the fellowship of His Son." 
"Being confident of this very thing, that He which hath begun a 
good work in us will 'perform it until the day of Jesus Christ ; 
will confirm, us unto the end, that we may be blameless in the day 
of Jesus Christ;" for "He hath declared that He will never leave 
nor forsake us ;" and that " He will put his fear in our hearts, that 
we shall not depart from him. v % Since, therefore, the connection 
between these two doctrines is so close and intimate, that it is im- 
possible to adopt the first of them, without embracing the other, we 
must account for every apparent final falling away after the recep- 
tion of God's grace, as the beloved apostle has instructed us to do. 
"They went out from us, but they were not of us, for if they had 
been of us, they woidd no doubt leave continued with us: but 
they went out, that they might be made manifest, that they were 
not all of us.' '§ Jesus giveth unto his sheep "eternal life; and 
they shall never perish; neither shall any man pluck them out 
of his hands."ll If then any persons, after appearing to believe, 
finally die in a state of unbelief, the reason is evident : it is because 
they are not, never were of Christ's sheep ; even as Christ himself 
hath told us.1T " Fear not, little flock, for it is your Father's good 
pleasure to give you the kingdom."** But if a wolf in sheep's 

* Rom. viii. 30. t Matt. x. 22. 

f 1 Thess. v. 24. 1 Cor. i. 9. 1 Cor. i. 8. Heb. xiii. 5. Jer. xxxii. 40, which com- 
pare with Heb. viii. 8, 10, 11. § 1 John ii. 19. 
ti John x. 28. V Ibid. x. 26. ** Luke xii. 32. 



ON ELECTING GRACE. 319 

clothing get among the flock, it does not follow that he shall inherit 
the kingdom, nor is his coming short of it a falling away of God's 
elect; but only a proof that, in spite of his specious appearance, he 
never belonged to them. Such-a-one's falling away is no falling 
from grace, but only a return to his natural propensities, " as the 
dog returns to his own vomit, or the sow that was washed to her 
wallowing in the mire."* And thus it is whenever professors finaltf 
fall. Their specious outside was such, perhaps, as to deceive not 
only themselves, but even the very elect : but it could not deceive 
Go(j^ The Lord knoweth them that are his. The Good Shepherd 
knows his sheep, and his piercing eye will find out every intruder 
and drive them from the fold. God is not mocked. This man 
was all along sowing to the flesh ; and therefore it is, that he is 
finally left of the flesh to reap corruption.! 

If we carefully examine the passages which are supposed to mil- 
itate against this doctrine, we shall find that not one of them is 
really opposed to it ; because not one of them supposes the apostate 
ever to have been endued with saving grace. A comparison of 
Heb. vi. 4 — 8, with the parable of the sower, may convince us that the 
fallers away there mentioned, are only very aggravated cases of the 
stony and thorny ground hearers of the parable. It is to be re- 
marked, that St. Paul does not compare them to earth, which hav- 
ing once drank in the rain from heaven, and brought forth good 
fruit, became afterwards barren and unfruitful ; but he compares 
them to that which, unsoftened by the rain from heaven which 
falls upon it, brings forth nothing but thorns and briers, as its natu- 
ral and sole production. Such earth is not good ground become 
bad ; it is bad ground which has never been made good. And it 
receives the curse of barrenness. The barren fig-tree is spared 
from year to year, till the heavenly husbandman has digged about 
it and dressed it: yet we are told, that if it continue barren under 
all these advantages, a time will come, when even Jesus will consent 
that it be cut down : when even Jesus, coming to the fig-tree, and 
beholding no fruit, but only leaves, will say in his wrath, " Let 
no fruit grow on this tree henceforward for ever. ." So this ungrate- 
ful soil, on which the rain from heaven has been perpetually fall- 
ing, but on which it has ever fallen in vain, shall at length be left 
to the consequences of its own obduracy, and no further pains be- 
stowed upon it. And thus it was with the apostate professors of 
whom St. Paul speaks. These had tasted the heavenly gift, and 
been made partakers of the Holy Ghost ; that is, partakers of his 
miraculous influences through the laying on of the hands of the 
apostles : — (for that no participation of his saving influences is here 
spoken of is evident from the 9th verse). They had " tasted the 
good word of God, and the powers of the world to come :" that is, 
41 they had heard the word, and anon with joy received it."J Yet 
all this while they had none of those " things which accompany 

* 2 Peter ii. 22. f Gal. vi. 8. % Matt. xiii. 20. 



320 ON ELECTING GRACE. 

salvation."* Their hearts were all the time like the stony ground 
in which the good seed takes no root; or like the ground whence 
the thorns and briers have never been cleared, and which must in- 
evitably choke the good seed, and make it unfruitful. Therefore 
says St. Paul to such false-hearted professors, let them beware. 
For after they have tried God's patience to a certain extent, his 
Spirit will no longer strive with them. They are as sure to fall 
away, as a plant that has no root is sure to wither. And when 
God thus permits them to be hardened through the deceitfulness of 
sin, and they are left to crucify the Son of God afresh, and piyphim 
to an open shame ; then it will be impossible for any efforts orours 
to renew them to repentance ; for those whom God thus leaves to 
themselves, will go on hardening themselves forever. That this 
is the sense of his words, is evident from the context, Heb. vi. 1 — 4, 
the meaning of which seems to be, it is of no use to be perpetually 
laying the foundation of your faith, and going back to the first ru- 
diments of the doctrine of Christ for the sake of those wayside, 
stony-ground, or thorny-ground hearers, in whom the good seed 
will never come to perfection. Let us therefore leave the first prin- 
ciples, and go on to perfection, for their sakes, who having received 
the word, and understood it, are now prepared to receive further 
supplies of light and knowledge ; who having in them the things 
which accompany salvation, will go on from strength to strength. 

One thing has especially struck me in this and similar passages. 
Amidst all the gifts and graces mentioned, faith in our Lord Jesus 
Christ is never once hinted at, as having formed any part of the 
religion of these false-hearted professors. Yet a simple trust in 
Jesus is the grand evidence of our being in a state of grace. "He 
that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life : and he that be- 
lieveth not the Son shall not see life."f Now should these pages 
meet the eye of one of my dear Christian brethren, whose mind, 
from the weakness of his faith, or the strength of temptation, may 
be harassed by passages such as these, it is to this point of a sim- 
ple belief in Jesus, that I would particularly draw his attention. 

The sense of your weakness and helplessness fills you with dis- 
may. You often feel that, like one of the saints of old, you are 
ready to halt ; your feet seem almost gone ; your steps about to 
slide. The candle of the Lord has ceased to shine upon you, and 
you exclaim in your haste, I am cut off from before thine eyes. You 
look, perhaps, for gifts and graces, as evidences of your spiritual con- 
dition ; but you feel that you have none to produce. Perhaps you 
have been a backslider from the ways of God, and have gone on fro- 
wardly in the way of your own heart. And now, all, all seems gone, 
save a fearful looking for of judgment and fiery indignation, which 
having set yourself down as the adversary of the Lord, you are daily 
expecting to devour you. But, beloved, though in the agony of your 
self-abasement and condemnation, you cannot find a single spirit- 
ual grace residing within you, can you not recollect a time when 
* Heb. vi. 9. t J ohn iii. 36. 



ON ELECTING GRACE. 32l 

your faith laid hold on Jesus for salvation 7 when putting away 
all confidence in your own deservings, and casting yourself, as a 
miserable, guilty, and helpless sinner, at the foot of his cross, you 
trusted yourself unreservedly to him for pardon, righteousness and 
strength ? If you have thus done, you have placed yourself in the 
hands of one who will hold you fast to all eternity. He will never 
let you go, though your weak and treacherous heart may sometimes 
seem to have let go its hold of him. Take comfort, then, and en- 
courage yourself in the Lord your God. Be assured that the false 
professors, to whom you would compare yourself, never had one 
grain of this saving faith. Though your faith be weak and 
trembling, yet be not afraid, only believe. For look what comfort- 
able words our Saviour Christ speaks unto you — " this is the will 
of him that sent me, that every one which seeth the Son, and be- 
lieveth on him, may have everlasting life, and I will raise him up 
at the last day."* 

If you cannot feel sure that you have ever exercised this simple 
unreserved trust in your Lord and Saviour, endeavor now to com- 
mit yourself into his hands. Instead of tormenting yourself with 
so many vain fears, cast yourself anew on the mercy of God in 
Christ Jesus, as if you had never been to him before. Fall, just as 
you are, into the arms of his mercy. Say unto him, " Lord, I be- 
lieve, help thou mine unbelief." If you can do nothing more, lie 
passive at his feet, until his pitying eye shall look down upon you, 
and his gentle hand shall raise you from the dust. Trust in him, 
though he slay you. Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou 
shalt be saved. 

There is another passage in Hebrews (x. 26 — 29), which is some- 
times brought forward to prove that we may fall away, after hav- 
ing received the knowledge of the truth. But this knowledge is 
evidently no saving knowledge. We may receive the knowledge 
of the truths without receiving and embracing the truth itself. 
The plain meaning of the passage seems to be. that to those who 
sit under the light of the Gospel without benefiting by it, to them 
it shall be a savor of death unto death ; that if when Christ has 
been offered, and his sacrifice made known to us, we reject that 
means of salvation, there remaineth no further sacrifice for sin, " no 
other name under heaven by which we can be saved."f If we 
will not be reconcile^ through Christ, God has provided no other 
way of reconciliation. 

Neither has the passage Heb. xii. 15 — 17, any real difficulty in 
it. For Esau's rejection oi his birthright, was but the natural effect 
of his carelessness of the heavenly blessings contained in it. He 
had never really valued his birthright ; it, was as a pearl cast before 
swine, which he readily relinquished for the food suited to his swin- 
ish nature. Moreover it did but serve to justify God's predestina- 
tion concerning him ; for he had declared, before even Esau was 
born, that the elder should serve the younger. Esau's case, there- 
* John vi. 40. t Ac * s iv. 12. 

21 



322 ON ELECTING GRACE. 

fore, was not one of apostasy ; but his conduct, in this instance, 
was only a consequence of his former obduracy.* 

Nor does the dreadful description in 2 Peter ii. 20, 21, allude to 
a falling away from grace once received. For grace had never 
cleansed those polluted hearts. The earthly, sensual, devilish nature, 
had never been, in the smallest degree removed. This affords no in- 
stance of sheep permitted to stray everlastingly from the fold ; for these, 
we are informed, were but dogs returned to their own vomit — swine, 
that had been outwardly washed, to their wallowing in the mire. 

In Luke xi. 21, 22, we are told, that " when a strong man armed 
keepeth his palace, his goods are in peace ; but when a stronger 
than he shall come upon him and overcome him, he taketh away 
all his armor wherein he trusted, and divideth his spoil ;" that Hs, 
that Satan keeps undisturbed possession of man's heart, till Christ, 
who is stronger than he, forcibly ejects him thence, and himself 
enters into that soul, and dwells and reigns there forever. In the 
24th, 25th, and 26th verses of the same chapter, the unclean 
spirit is represented as voluntarily going out of a man, and after- 
wards returning with seven other spirits more wicked than him- 
self; so that the last state of that man is worse than the first. 
The former of these passages may serve to explain and illustrate the 
latter, which has sometimes been supposed to describe a state of 
apostasy after grace. In the first instance {that of real conver- 
sion^) the strong man armed keepeth his palace, and is only driven 
out by the coming of " one stronger than he ;" who, having pos- 
sessed himself of the palace, will hold fast his blood-bought posses- 
sion. Satan can never resume his dominion ; because, let him 
come when he will to that man's heart, he finds it occupied by " a 
stronger than himself," who will never let him set his foot there. 
In other words, w T hen Christ really takes up his abode in a soul, 
Satan's power over it is gone forever. He can no longer say, ' I 
will return to my house whence I came out :' for he knows that 
the house is now Christ's house, and must remain so, till Satan is 
stronger than Christ. But the second case described is widely dif- 
ferent. Here the uncl&an spirit has secure possession of the soul ; 
he goes in, and comes out at his pleasure. He has no need to keep 
his palace so carefully ; because he sees no one to oppose his right 
and title to it. He leaves the man for a time ; and, when weary 
of his absence, he says, ' I will return to my .house whence I came 
out.' And mark the circumstance of his return : he findeth it 
il empty, swept, and garnished."t Some of its outward abomina- 
tions have been cleared away during his absence : it has been swept 
with the broom of self-righteousness, and garnished with some fan- 
cied good works — some carnal desires or other for obtaining God's 
favor. But where is the " stronger than the strong man ?" Who 

* It should be remembered also, that the : repentance' referred to a chancre of mind 
in Isaac, not in himself; compare verse 17, with Gen. xxvii. 35 — 40. The example 
has therefore no direct connection with spiritual apostasy. 

■j- Matt. xx. 44. 



ON ELECTING GRACE. 323 

shall keep the unclean spirit out of an empty house ? What won- 
der if, finding it thus empty, and none to oppose his entrance, he 
go in and dwell there with seven other spirits more wicked than 
himself? To divest the subject of metaphor, the soul of this man^ 
left for a time by Satan, and subjected to some self-devised purifica- 
tion, may seem to himself and others to be " washed from his filth- 
iness •"* may be adorned with a specious appearance of grace. But 
there is no Christ in that soul, and therefore there never can really 
have been any grace. The doors of that heart have never been 
lifted up to let the King of glory in. The man is of himself wholly 
without strength to resist the attack of his spiritual adversary ; and 
as he has never applied for help to " one that is mighty," what 
wonder if Satan lead him captive at his will % This is not then 
the case of a soul which having received Christ, has fallen away 
from him ; but of one who has never received Christ at all. St. 
Paul says, " examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith ; prove 
your ownselves : know ye not your ownselves, how that Jesus 
Christ is in you, except ye be reprobate ?" Now Jesus Christ was 
not in this man ; therefore his state, at the time of the return of the 
evil spirit, was not that of the elect of God ; nor need his fall be 
an occasion of stumbling to any who know that Christ abideth in 
them by the Spirit which he hath given them. 

The true use of the awful passages which we have been con- 
sidering, is to stir up every professing disciple of the Lord Jesus 
carefully to examine the state of his own soul. For these Scrip- 
tures show us how far — how very far a person may proceed in an 
apparently religious course, without having any of those things 
that accompany salvation. Let us not try ourselves by any un- 
certain standard. Strong convictions, highly-excited feelings, fan- 
appearances of our conduct, may exist ; while all the time we 
have neither part nor lot in the matter, because our hearts are 
not right in the sight of God. But " hereby do we know that 
we know him, if we keep his commandments."! " Hereby know 
we that we dwell in him, and he in us, because he hath given 
us of his Spirit."!: " And the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, 
long-suflering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance."* 
li We know that we have passed from death unto life ; because we 
love the brethren."! "The foundation of God standeth sure, hav- 
ing this seal, the Lord knoweth them that are his. And, let every 
one, that nameth the name of Christ, depart from iniquity. 5 " 2 !! We 
are " kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation."** 
Has God given us this faith? Have we "a living faith."tt Does 
it enable us to endure, "as seeing him who is invisible ?"U To 
"look not at the things which are seen and temporal ; but at the 
things which are unseen and eternal ?"§§ Does it " work by love ;" 
" overcome the world ;" " quench the fiery darts of the devil ?"||lj 

* Prov. xxx. 12. t John ii. 3. + 1 John iv. 13. 

§ Gal. v. 22. 23. II 1 John iii. 14. IT 2 Tim. ii. 19. 

** 1 Peter i. 5. ft James ii. 2G. ^ Heb. xi. 27. 

% 2 Cor. iv. 18. Illl Gal. v. 6. John v. 4. Eph. vi. 16. 



324 ON ELECTING GRACE. 

These are some of the marks which God has given us to examine 
ourselves by. These are things which do accompany salvation. 
" Every plant," says Jesus, " which my heavenly Father hath not 
planted, shall be rooted up."* Would we know whether we are 
thus planted only to be rooted up ; or whether we are " trees of 
righteousness, the 'planting of the Lord ;"t " which shall still bring 
forth fruit in old age ; and shall, to the end, be fat and flourishing ?"+ 
Let us examine whether we be, filled with the fruits of righteous- 
ness which are, by Jesus Christ, unto the glory and praise of God .§ 

I would, in conclusion, most earnestly beseech all who love the 
Lord Jesus in sincerity, not to dishonor their Lord by doubting of 
his faithfulness to keep them to the end. " Jesus Christ is the same 
yesterday, and to-day, and forever."|| If he loved us yesterday, he 
loved us to-day, and he will love us forever ; and, as long as his 
love to us lasts, so long will ours to him : for ours is the effect of 
his. As long as he loves us with an everlasting love, so long with 
loving-kindness will he draw us ; and, as long as he draws us, we 
shall run after him. Let us not stagger at the promises of God, 
through unbelief; but let us be strong in faith, giving glory to 
God : glory to the love which first brought us out of our low es- 
tate ; glory to the faithfulness which will never leave us, till it has 
perfected that which concerns us. And when we are assaulted by 
foes within and without, and hemmed in by so many dangers, that 
we are ready to exclaim, " 1 shall one day perish by the hand of 
the enemy ;" even then let us against hope believe in hope, that the 
Lord shall deliver us from every evil work, and will preserve us unto 
his heavenly kingdom. ^T 

Let the weak and trembling believer look well to every part of 
the everlasting covenant, and lay hold of the strong consolation 
contained in it. Let him remember who are the parties in this cov- 
enant : the Trinity in unity on the one hand ; and the man Christ 
Jesus, who is also Jehovah Jesus, appearing on behalf of the chil- 
dren of the covenant, on the other. For the Saints are " elect 
according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through sancti- 
fication of the Spirit, unto obedience and sprinkling of the blood of 
Jesus Christ :"** they are admitted into the outward pale of the cov- 
enant (by the sign of baptism) " in the name of the Father, and 
of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost :"tt and they are made partakers 
of the " grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and 
the communion of the Holy Ghost."U According to the " counsel" 
and " eternal purpose" of this triune Jehovah was the everlasting 
covenant established ; " according to the purpose of Him who work- 
eth all things after the counsel of his own will :"§§ " whose counsel 
endureth forever, and the thoughts of his heart to all generations ;"lili 
" with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning :"1HF 

* Matt. xv. 13. t Isa. lxi. 3. % Psalm xcii. 14. 

% Phil. i. 11. II Heb. xiii. 8. IT 2 Tim. iv. 18. 

** Peter i. 2. ft Matt, xxviii. 19. # 2 Cor. xiii. 14. 

%% Eph. i. 5, 9. 11. and iii. 11- Ml Psalm xxxiii. 11. HIT James i. 17. 



ON ELECTING GRACE. 325 

" who changeth not :"* " who is not a man that he should lie, nor 
the son of man that he should repent :"t " the God that cannot 
lie :"t "the Lord God of truth :"§ "whose word is true from the 
beginning, and every one of his righteous judgments endureth for- 
ever :"|| "who will be ever mindful of his covenant :"!" for he is 
" the faithful God, which keepeth covenant and mercy."** " A God 
of truth and without iniquity, just and right is he."tt This cove- 
nant-keeping God is our Father, for he is the " God and Father of our 
Lord Jesus Christ," the other party in the covenant ; yea, himself the 
Surety of the covenant of peace ; our Surety for good. This Surety 
of ours has performed his part, that is, our part in the everlasting 
covenant. He has been "cut off, but not for himself; has made 
reconciliation for iniquity, and brought in everlasting righteous- 
ness."U Justice, by releasing our Surety from the prison of the 
grave, and permitting him forever to sit down on the right hand 
of the Majesty on high, has proclaimed herself fully satisfied, and 
unable to claim from him or from us one jot or one tittle more in 
the way either of doing or of suffering.§§ "Who is he that con- 
demned ? It is Christ that died, yea, rather, that is risen again, 
who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh interces- 
sion for us."|||| And he is able to "save them to the uttermost that 
come unto God by him, seeing that he ever liveth to make inter- 
cession for them :"1HT and that the Father " heareth him always."*** 
He is gone " to appear in the presence of God for us ;"ttt Xo be our 
advocate with the Father ;tU our " High Priest over the house of 
God."§§§ Moreover " it pleased the Father that in him should all 
fulness dwell :"|||||| and " out of his fulness have all we received, and 
grace for grace."l"1Tl" " All the promises" of the covenant " in Him 
are yea, and in Him, amen ;"**** for God hath declared that "his 
covenant shall stand fast with him."fttt "As f° r me j this is my 
covenant with them, saith the Lord ; my Spirit that is upon thee, 
and my words which I have put in thy mouth, shall not depart out 
of thy mouth, nor out of the mouth of thy seed, nor out of the 
mouth of thy seed's seed, saith the Lord, from henceforth and for 
ever.'^ttt Thus " ordered in all things and sure"§§§§ is the everlast- 
ing covenant which God hath made with his people. It was "con- 
firmed of God in Christ before the world was :"|||||||| confirmed by the 
promise and oath of God, those two " immutable things in which it 
was impossible for God to lie :"f ITM and being thus confirmed, " none 
shall ever disannul, or add to it."***** " My covenant will I not break 
nor alter the thing that is gone out of my lips. Once have I sworn 

* Mall. iii. 6. f Num. xxiii. 19. $ Titus i. 2. 

§ Psalm xxxi. 5. II Psalm cxix. 160. IT Psalm cxi. 5. 

** Deut. vii. 9. I Kings viii. 23. Neh. i. 5. Dan. ix. 4. ft Deut. xxxii. 4. 

XX Dan. ix. 24, 26. §§ Rom. iv. 25. Nil Rom. viii. 34. 

TIT Heb. vii. 25. *** John xi. 42. ftt Heb. ix. 24. 

tf% 1 John ii. 1. §§§ Heb. x. 21. HUH Col. i. 19. 

UTTir John i. 16. ***.* 2 Cor. 20. fftt Psalm Ixxxix. 28. 

^j: Isa. lix. xxi. %$ 2 Sam. xxii. 5. HIIIIII Gal. iii. 17, and Eph. i. 4. 

tfinnr Heb. vi. 17, 18 ***** Gal. iii. 15. 



326 ON ELECTING GRACE. 

by my holiness, that I will not lie unto David"* (i. e., David's Lord, 
as is evident from the context). "I will make an everlasting cov- 
enant with them, that I will not turn away from them to do them 
good" (here is God 'S faithfulness.) u but I will put my fear into 
their hearts, that they shall not depart from me."f (here is our per- 
severance). li The mountains shall depart, and the hills shall be 
removed ; but my kindness shall not depart from thee, neither shall 
the covenant of my peace be removed, saith the Lord that hath 
mercy on thee. "J "I will make an everlasting covenant with you, 
even the sure mercies of David :"§ and how sure those mercies are, 
may be seen from Jer. xxxiii. 20, 26. " Thus hath the Lord sent 
redemption unto his people : he hath commanded his covenant for- 
ever ; holy and reverend is his name."|| Holy, holy, holy, Lord 
God of Hosts ! The whole earth shall be full of thy glory ! Sal- 
vation to our God which sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb, 
forever and ever ! 

That blessed child of the covenant, Hooker, has expressed his 
faith in the final perseverance of God's elect in terms so beautiful 
and glorious, that I cannot close this little work without inserting 
them. "Blessed forever and ever be that mother's child, whose 
faith hath made him the child of God. The earth may shake, 
the pillars of the world may tremble under us, the countenance of 
the heavens may be appalled, the sun may lose his light, the moon 
her beauty, and the stars their glory ; but concerning the man that 
trusted in God, if the fire have proclaimed itself unable as much as 
to singe a hair of his head, if lions, beasts ravenous by nature, and 
keen with hunger, being set to devour, have as it were religiously 
adored the very flesh of the faithful man ; what is there in the 
world that shall change his heart, overthrow his faith, alter his af- 
fection towards God, or the affection of God to him ? If I be of 
this note, who shall make a separation between me and my God? 
Shall tribulation, or anguish, or persecution, or famine, or na- 
kedness, or peril, or sword ? No; I am persuaded that neither 
tribulation, nor anguish, nor persecution, nor famine, nor na- 
kedness, nor peril, nor sword, nor death, nor life, nor angels, nor 
principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, 
nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature shall ever prevail 
so far over me. I knoio in whom I have believed ; I am not igno- 
rant whose precious blood has been shed for me ; I have a shepherd 
full of kindness, full of care, and full of power ; unto him I com- 
mit myself; his own finger hath engraved this sentence in the ta- 
bles of my heart, Satan hath desired to winnow thee as wheat, but 
I have prayed that thy faith fail not : Therefore the assurance 
of my hope I will labor to keep, as a jewel, unto the end ; and by 
labor, through the gracious mediation of his prayer, I shall keep it.'' 

* Psalm Ixxxix. 34, 35. f Jer. xxxii. 40. 

$ Isa. liv. 9. 10. § Isa. lv. 3. 

II Psalm cxi. 9. 

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